...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

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...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Be careful what you ask for!!!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Please place your lyric in the storage bin above your head which is located near here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12386
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

Phlub wins!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

sleepysilverdoor wrote:
Sat Nov 12, 2022 2:50 pm
Phlub wins!
Fake news!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Lunkhead wrote:
Sat Nov 12, 2022 8:15 pm
sleepysilverdoor wrote:
Sat Nov 12, 2022 2:50 pm
Phlub wins!
Fake news!
Russian disinformation design to skew the result of the voting, I'm sure.
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

If anyone else wins it's cause everybody else was cheating!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Songs posted!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by ujnhunter »

WreckdoM: SASQUATCH! Love that part. I'm going to guess this is the grungiest song (along with ours) of the fight... based on the pre-fight... but since this is the first song I've listened to... I'll be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong about that. Drums sound great... bass sounds rad at the end (but missing throughout?) this is right in my favorite 2 minute (to 3 min) time zone. Probable vote... depends on how grungy the rest can get. ;) SASQUATCH!

Phlub: Gojira synthwave? The chorus parts remind me of... OhGr or something... maybe more Rx... this could definitely fit in with my late 90's listening habits. I like the headphone ear candy. I like the chorus. I like the synth "stabs" at the end... I'll probably have to vote for this one too. (How many can I vote for?)

Reve + Ujn: Das us. Reve wrote a nice little grunge track... I recorded my guitars through a Jerry Cantrell Signature amp to hopefully capture some of that grunge goodness. I know the mix was a bit rushed in the end... but I think it turned out pretty much how (I had envisioned it... though Reve is the envisioneer... so hopefully it turned out mostly how he) we had envisioned it.

Lichen: I've not been listening all that regularly lately... but I assume you've still been submitting tracks on a weekly basis... and I think it's paying off for you... I think your singing is getting better and it sounds like you're actually trying some new things... I like how you've come out of your lower register in some parts in this track and I like the plucky parts in my right ear... keep at it!

Vegetables: This reminds me of some Legendary Pink Dots track... I'm kinda bummed that it was super rainy the other night... I wanted to go see them live @ The Middle Eastern in MA. While I wouldn't call this grunge... I like the fuzzy guitars and the lead bits. This also falls right into the perfect song time at 2:21... I wish you had been invited to the party. Another possible vote...

Pigfarmer Jr: Banjo's are not grunge... but this track is very nicely recorded. I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be humming this track later. Good work. Again... you must have written this nicely concise 1:52 track just for me. Thank you. ;) If I vote for this you'll probably win and how can I let a Banjo beat out some Grunge... so I'm torn.

Eastern Rivals: Okay... the Edge joined Song Fight!... Nice Masters of the Universe shoutout. Don't think that I'm picking on you... but this is a perfect example of why I like 2-3min songs... I feel like this could be cut down considerably to be shorter and tighter in arrangement and you wouldn't miss anything. Take some of these (8 bar?) sections and chop them in half and you'll be there in no time! Overall it sounds fine, nice backing vocal parts in the end... I just think it could be about 2 minutes shorter and be even better.

BSS: Not quite as "Edgy" as the prior track... close. Sounds kind of... Cure-ish in the backend of the chorus. I like it. Nice little bridge/breakdown... I'll probably be humming this track too, won't I? You could trim this track just a tad too I think... but it's good. Are we gonna have a Banjo or a Poppy hummable song win this GRUNGE fight?! Ahhh!!!

Mellfire 3: Starts sparce... minimalistic... but... good separation... I like how the bassline picks up... I like the Ahhh-ahhh! Behind the Scenes part towards the end. I don't know... I think I like this track... but I don't like that triple (fake) cymbal crash at the end unless that signifies the Trifecta.

P Army: This is a lost 70's AOR tune isn't it? I feel like I've heard this song growing up... sitting in the back seat of my parents car... rolling down the window (manually). What gives me this feeling? Is it the instrumentation? Is it the chord progression? Someone who has better theory than me, please tell me the reason. I'll probably get this stuck in my head too.

Good work everyone!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by WreckdoMelle »

Lichenthroat - Your songs have a way of telling rich stories in a concise space. This blend of instrumentation lends a whimsey that perfectly accompanies this tale of a theatre (most of what I know about theatre comes from watching British mysteries so...) and I particularly like the cello and the timbre of the drums together.

Inflatable Vegetables - I'm intrigued about the story here - are the screams real? or figurative screams? Great guitar tone, good vox and I like that the instrumentation is rather spare. This is a dark song, and I approve.

The Mellfire Trifecta - Nice harmonies, interesting chords, good guitar tone. The piano is just the right touch. The songs I've heard so far this fight have had captivating stories and this is no exception. What will happen?

WreckdoM - I hurried back in mind to the days when grunge broke to try and collect some pocket lint of the era and had a hard time; I realized on listening to "quintessential grunge" I never listened to it too much. I had no idea what grunge was talking about, it was topically all over the place. It was about itself, I suppose, and at a loud volume, at intervals.

Berkeley Social Scene - The guitars sound fantastic, as always. Nice harmonies, really really good hook. I would say the end was a bit long - I wondered if something else was about to happen but there was no shocking conclusion.

Reve + Ujn - Grungetastic. Downpicked, driving guitar, bashing drums, into angsty quiet vox, then back up again - perfecto. Rock!

Phlub - Some great, transgressive tones here, and unexpected layers that pop up and keep everything interesting. I really like the change just after 3 mins, and the coda - whoa, creepy! I must mention that King Colon of WreckdoM always appreciates your tunes, the pushing of boundaries and the deliberate experimentation with sounds that are not always immediately familiar or comfortable.

Eastern Bay Rivals - Well mixed, good choices in regards to instrumentation and tones. The guitar reminds me of U2, in a good way. I felt the song seemed to be a slowburner that filled up that 4 minutes adequately though at the end I was still where I was at in the beginning - if that makes any sense.

Pannacotta Army - Oh Pannacotta, why do you have to be so good at what you do? There's nothing remotely grunge as a genre or really anything grunge-y about this at all unless someone put Steely Dan in flannel, but I would put money (not a lot, I'm no good at gambling) on this winning the get grunge-y challenge nonetheless, it's just so flawless. I always appreciate your clean mixes and capable follow-through.

Pigfarmer Jr. - I'm here for this banjo business. This song is very cute, and I mean that in the sense that it's appealing, whimsical, inoffensive, and fun to listen to, not in a diminishing or dismissive way. The breakdown is nice and really at just under 2 minutes it never wears out its welcome. Love songs, or relationship songs rather, are for me at the bottom of my preferences but I make exception when they are as peppy as this one.

So as Ujn Hunter observers, not a whole lotta grunge-ing going on here... or - maybe this IS grunge mode for some folks. What do I know, I was utterly captured by Nirvana for a few months until I too felt very disaffected and bored and full up with MTV's sudden obsession with people in frayed earthtones and baby-doll dresses singing in that Eddie Vedder style I never liked. Nevertheless, the 90's left its Sharpie-vandalism-like marks and I still play my guitar in a Cobain-ish manner, not due to the profound influence putting itself into my style, but more like my unpolished and outsider style of the time became suddenly acceptable and I quit practicing my sequences because everyone thought metal was dead. Little did they know that grunge scourged away the hairspray and spandex to make way for the mighty Pantera (who quickly hid their own hairspray and spandex and preserved the fire of metal like the primal people in that movie Quest for Fire with Ron Perlman and Rae Dawn Chong, through the 90's until people were ready to be extreme again). I will end by remarking how perfectly appropriate it was to be sitting a few weeks ago in a Minneapolis airport lounge and hearing Babes in Toyland blasting. * chef's kiss *
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

It’s been pure mood for the past few days so if I come across a bit snarky sorry it’s just my mindset.

Berkeley Social Scene: I kind of love the guitar intro. There’s this one Deftones song it reminds me of…something off of Diamond Eyes but the rest of the song doesn’t give me that vibe at all. I’m curious what your effect chain is there cause it sounds great. Vocals are a little bit lower in the mix that I would prefer. The breakdown where you start playing with the volume knob is a nice touch. I don’t know if I’d call it grunge but it’s definitely 90s inspired. The compositional movement *after* that bridge is a bit odd, like…it doesn’t go where I expect it to but I don’t know if it goes where I want it to go. But it’s your song. And then those cool arpeggios come back and I’m happy again.

Eastern Bay Rivals: Well here’s another cool guitar intro. This is much less grunge as it is U2, but that’s okay cause U2 wrote cool songs. I would have liked to hear a little bit more melodic range – like between the verse and chorus, you’re still staying on the same three notes. Like if you’d done it Beautiful Day style and gone up an octave, the chorus would have been so much more effective. There is a great song in here, it just needs more enthusiasm! Which I understand is hard - it’s songfight and we all have different recording situations. But still, that’s about the only gripe I have.

Inflatable Vegetables: My wife says this sounds like Weezer, which makes it a bit more grunge adjacent to the last two songs. Bass needs to come up in the mix, guitar needs to be a bit clearer, especially when it comes in all distorted. Vocals are way too lound, put some compression on the individual instrumental tracks and get them fleshed out for a good proper grungy mix, this is just way too dry! Guitar sounded like it was kind of wanted to rush ahead of the drum track during that solo section. Sweet Caroline reminds me of a frustrating ex so I’m ok with not having it come out of the speakers.

Lichen Throat: There’s something about your story telling style at times that reminds me of Shel Silverstein in his edgier moments. I don’t know where my mind pulls that from, cause I don’t recall Shel Sillverstein ever talking about adderall, alcohol, and benzedrine (the combo of which seems sure to induce heart palpitations). Anyway, back in high school I was friends with many people who were involved in the theater department and from what I gathered, there were always plenty of shenanigans going on behind the scenes there. I suspect that as you get into the adult theater world the same personality types are involved, and so this story is very believable. Vibe sort of gives me “musescore version of grunge” vibes, though still not very grungy.

The Mellfire Trifecta: This *also* isn’t grunge, unless everyone defines grunge differently. It does kind of remind me of REM, and they were active *when* grunge was and Cobain was friends with Michael Stipe if I remember correctly (it’s been a long time since I was a child growing up with VH1 in the background of my room and that fact was relevant). The detours that this chord progression takes as we go through the verse to the bridge and chorus is great, and the chorus brings enough of the vibes for me to reluctantly give this the optional challenge checkmark. All it all, a solid entry.

The Pannacotta Army: Also not grunge, reminds me of some of the better 70s soft rock type songs. Like something about it makes me think of A Horse With No Name. That soft string line hanging on the suspended 4ths and 2nds that comes in in the second verse is sublime and adds so much to the song. You are one of a small number of people who I could see writing songs with mass appeal outside of SongFight, and that has been true over the past few years I’ve been reviewing you. I’m sure there’s some reason why I don’t see your albums getting reviewed on RYM’s front page, but I suspect it has to do with time and marketing.

Phlub: Me. I was doing Fluffy’s novembeat and came up with the basic instrumental backbone here. Lyrics kind of came to me, but I’m only half sure what they mean. I wish I’d made this more bass heavy. Oh and this is my second entry using 10edo tuning – that is, 10 notes to an octave instead of 12. If you notice the thirds and sixths are all pretty solidly neutral – not really distinctly major or minor and all the major seconds are way too sharp relative to how stuff usually sounds. This is not grunge.

Pigfarmer Jr: Banjo! Also not really that grungy. Quite good and well executed, with a strong melody, particularly in the verse. Chorus feels like it’s missing a line. Like “I don’t wanna know”, it kind of trails off and then we’re back in the verse without a melody resolution but maybe that was deliberate. It’s certainly distinct, and it starts to grow on me as the song goes on. Maybe resolving in the last time would have been good?

Reve + Ujn: Finally a song that sounds properly grungy. TURN UP YOUR VOCALS. They’re kind of buried behind the angst! Cymbals are a bit too loud. But can I complain at all, finally, some grungy grunge that grunges really hard! It’s hard for the lyrics to really jump out at me cause of the mixing complaints, but man this takes me back. Vocal performance is just lackadaisical enough to really nail it. In my head this has a video of people standing around in the rain or in like an art museum looking dejected.

WreckdoM: FINALLY MORE REAL GRUNGE. And Mel has turned in the most grungy vocal performance of the fight – you go for those screams in the chorus and really nail them, especially that last SASQUAAATCHHHHHHHH yell. I don’t have too many in-genre comparisons cause despite “woman screaming a melody over plodding power chords” being a key sonic characteristic this doesn’t really sound all that much like Hole, but who cares you’re 30 years too late and I love this.

—--

Summary: this fight got stronger and more focused on the optional challenge as it went on, and ending with Reve + Ujn and then WreckdoM bringing in the proper grunge vibes was great. I think Pannacotta wrote the best song overall, and honorable mention to Mellfire. Stickers for everyone cause there were no outright duds here but it is a contest and it’s subjective so yeah.
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by WreckdoMelle »

I feel like I did not say enough about Reve+Ujn; but it was so perfectly grunge I just had no more expound upon. I certainly voted for it, and I appreciate the use of Jerry Cantrell-approved gear in the song’s making. Man I wanted to like Alice In Chains more, because of Jerry Cantrell, but I could never get into the vox. That song The Rooster is really really good though.

Also very glad people enjoyed the Sasquatch thing - it was over the top, had to commit fully, no other choice.
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Sorry, no reviews from me. But you get one question that somehow makes your track about me.

Berkeley Social Scene: Why don't I ever do the hard panned twin guitars thing that y'all do so damn well so consistently?

Eastern Bay Rivals: Were you trying to sound like some sort of U2 track or am I just crazy?

Inflatable Vegetables: Why don't my double tracked vocals sound as good as yours?

Lichen Throat: Why can't I make a cool arrangement like this one?

The Mellfire Trifecta: Now I'm wondering: why don't I just study this vocal melody, performance and mix cuz it's so damn cool?

The Pannacotta Army: Can I call your music Igneous Rock because it always sound so smooth?

Phlub: Can I just keep asking, "How the hell do you make this cool ass music using just a bass?" as a running joke for the next ten years?

Pigfarmer Jr: Was it obvious that I don't know how to play banjo?

Reve + Ujn: How am I gonna get any compliments on my guitar tones if you keep nailing the slow(ish) burn like this?

WreckdoM: Have y'all always had such cool lyrics with your rocking guitars or am I just too dense to have noticed?
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

Berkeley Social Scene—I love the intro. This is very solid; I feel like I could listen to it many times without getting tired of it. I’m not sure I would ever love it, but it’s impossible not to like it. Good vocals and percussion.

Eastern Bay Rivals—The intro builds tension nicely, and then the vocal sounds great when it comes in. Good guitar tone. I love the instrumental part between verses. Very nice arrangement. I like the sense of building as it goes.

Inflatable Vegetables—This sounds kind of British, as if it’s from a well-made rock mockumentary, or something. I like the “Sweet Caroline” line. I’m not sure how well this would hold up to repeated listens, but it’s fun for the first few times, at least. I like how I can hear all the bass notes distinctly.

Lichen Throat—I think this is one of my best vocal performances—far from perfect, but much better than I used to be. I happened to go to a local community theater production of “Death Trap” the night I turned this in; the lead actor’s vocal delivery kept reminding me of Sideshow Mel.

The Mellfire Trifecta—This sounds sad right from the start, which I think shows good integration of sound and lyrics. Your voice, especially with the lack of effects you put on in it here, has just the right amount of forlornness to suit the lyrics. I’d like the melody to hook me more than it does, but I could imagine this being very effective in a movie soundtrack or somewhere where it was paired with a corresponding visual image.

The Pannacotta Army—Wow, your mix is great; I feel like I’m sitting in the middle of the band. This is on the mellow side for my taste, but your quality of execution is high enough that it’s an enjoyable listen anyway.

Phlub—I like your chord progression, or whatever the right term is in this context. There’s lots of dissonance, obviously, but there’s enough consonance to balance it out. This is sounds like a cohesive, legit song despite its weirdness.

Pigfarmer Jr—This is probably my favorite of your songs. The melodies are great, and the banjo fits perfectly in the song. I hope you win this week. I’m not sure you’ll get it, but I think you deserve it. (And I quite like your arrangement, by the way.)

Reve + Ujn—It’s the grungiest! That ride cymbal sounds great. You definitely get points for the optional challenge. This sounds fully legit as a 90s song. I like it.

WreckdoM—This is also quite grungy. The effect on the sasquatch scream is perfect, and I like the L7 reference.
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

lichenthroat wrote:
Thu Nov 24, 2022 10:54 am

Phlub—I like your chord progression, or whatever the right term is in this context. There’s lots of dissonance, obviously, but there’s enough consonance to balance it out. This is sounds like a cohesive, legit song despite its weirdness.
The chord progression is mostly alternating C# and A half #. I'm not sure exactly how to notate it but it essentially moving back and forth from the tonic to a tone about halfway between a minor and major sixth.
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Eastern Bay Rivals win!
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Re: ...but you might get a sneak peak. (Behind the Scenes reviews)

Post by Geech »

Alrighty, I was away for Thanksgiving, but I felt as I was in two of these songs, it behooved me to contribute reviews. I didn’t think the fight would flip before the end of the weekend, but oh well. Better late than never.

About the BSS and the Eastern Bay Rivals songs. They are really both BSS songs, but two submissions for one artist kind of breaks Song Fight. You can’t really vote for one or the other, so we (errr… I)
created the new band name. Berkeley is in the East Bay, get it?

BSS has Glennny on bass and vocals, Lunkhead on guitar, Ken on guitar and me on drums. Glennny produced.

Eastern Bay Rivals has Glennny on guitar, Martin on bass and me on drums and vocals. I produced.

As we usually do, the basics of drums, bass and rhythm guitars were tracked live. No clicks here.

I think Glennny did a nice job bringing the BSS song together. The vocals came out well, the layers and the flange effects are pretty cool. I like dueling leads generally, so it was fun to see that happen. I liked the intro groove a lot, so I pushed the group to end with that part too.

I made some aesthetic decisions on the EBR song that people here on the boards had some issues with. Yeah, the song is long. I just really liked the vibe and feel, so, as a producer, I let it ride. I was thinking Stereolab or Can on these grooves and those guys go on for seemingly ever. A lot of times in BSS jams, we’ll record too much and edit it down in post, but I wasn’t feeling it. And also didn’t have much time to think about it. Phlub, I hear you on going Beautiful Day in the chorus and that’s why I added the background vocals. I wanted a more chill vibe, so wasn’t thinking to jump an octave which would require a good deal more energy to hit. For those of you scoring at home, supposedly Glennny’s guitar delay is doing a polyrhythm of some kind. Try to pick it out. I really liked bringing the chorus vocal over the intro/arpeggio part before the final chorus returns. And generally, what I really liked about this song was that we didn’t do that many parts, not in the song structurally, or number of tracks. It’s pretty minimal overall, which is something I tend to fight for in BSS.

It’s totally possible there will never be another EBR song and we’ll retire with a 100% win rate!

Inflatable Vegetables -This is a pretty jokey song, which is not really my bag. It has a mid-sixties, swinging London vibe. I like the big muff guitar, good for the optional challenge which BSS/EBR totally avoided. I dig the duel guitar leads.

Lichen Throat - I am not the first to say this, but I strongly recommend that you find a vocalist to collab with. Hell, I would give it a shot if you would have me, but I think a female vocalist would suit your vibe well. The music and lyrics are interesting, no one else sounds like you - that’s a good thing.

Melfire - This is a nice jam. Doubled acoustics sound good. Halftime hat intro always works and I, too, have it in my limited repertoire as a drummer. (Thank you, Lars, for showcasing this on Enter Sandman). The vocals are clear and intimate. The piano is nice as are the background vocals, which make some interesting harmonies about half-way through. My problem overall is just that this song just isn’t very hooky. Hard to recall the chorus or any other part once said part ends. Like the Vegetables, this tune has a mid-sixties vibe to me, but here there is clearly more of a folk thing going on.

Pannacotta Army - This is my favorite song I wasn’t on. Good hooks, love the acoustic lead. This was the song I remembered most afterwards and the one I looked forward to most when it returned on the playlist. I like the vocal feel change of what seems like the pre-chorus. The first go-round I am ok to return to the head after it, but the second time you never get to a chorus, you downshift to a pre-bridge or something. How could you decide to skip a chorus? Cool double-time feel in the bridge. Nice chord changes. Love the tambo. But, man, this song needs an obvious chorus! The guitar lead is cool, but you need something more than “let’s start believing again” over the guitar lead for the nth time.

Phlub - Cool sounds, but forgettable. A lack of hooks. There is a long run in your vocal that seems to hang on just one note. Vocals are often off-key at times. I respect singing about architecture and archetypes, though. Ends with a fairly NiN feel.

Pigfarmer Jr - I like this vibe. Everything works well together here. Instruments are all clear and sounding good. The verse vocal intro is pretty hooky, but not much else is. You need a stronger chorus.

Reve + Ujn - Respect, brothers, on going loud. Not enough SF entries rock loud. You hit the optional challenge well. Not just the sound, but the soft/loud/soft/loud song structure that was pre-eminent in the early 90s. Nasal, self-loathing vocals, check. Good vocal attitude. Power chords ringing out over Kim Deal-like quarter note bass lines. Albini-like feedback. Gang vocal and keyboards get us out of grungeland, but are welcome to my ears. You hit some cool vocal blue notes around 2:15. Like with other tunes in this fight, I just want more hooks.

Wreckdom - This reminds me a lot of Seven Year Bitch, which means you hit the optional challenge well. Guitar sounds good. Lots of vocal attitude. Killer screams. Wish you had a real drummer, this vibe needs a real drummer and band feel.
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