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Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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c.layne
Push Comes to Shove
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Post by c.layne »

user wrote:<b>c.fuckin'.layne:</b> Everyone there thought it was really cool. Rock on.
that's really badass, dude. thanks for the plug ^_^
c hack
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Post by c hack »

peterpuss: yep, don't like the songfight lyrics. Vox are too amateurish. Not a bad start though.

wreckdom: hey, you're getting better. Still, it doesn't seem like you have anything worthwhile to say, and the burping at the end just confirms that.

DWG: poor use of title. Not doing anything for me.

mostly harmless: it was sounding pretty amateurish at first, but then it broke out and now it sounds great. Breaking down into the Twin Peaks groove was a good move.

jeremy martin: liking it from the start. Vox way too soft. Can't barely hear them. They're also a little out of tune. Don't like the tempo changes at all. You got a really great start here. I want to sample the intro.

dr. worm: bringin in da rock. So far, you've got my vote. Vox waver out of tune a little. Liking it, but not loving it.

hentai kitty death: not bad but not quite as good as dr. worm's. It really aggravating how the guitar riff is a hair faster than the beat.

eggplant jones: you sound like the dude (from big lebowski). This song annoys the hell out of me.

garbage clock: this song also annoys me.

astrolamb: like the guitar... not too bad. Not doing much for me. Vox are pretty bad.

squirrel damage: I'm pretty sure I've liked your stuff in the past enough to keep it. I don't like this one at all.

3mcee 3mp3whatever: I have nothing against the lyrics, but man, this song sucks.

c. layne: this is one of your weakest tracks that I've heard. But it still easily beats most of the stuff in this fight.


conclusion: No keepers. Pretty crappy fight. C. Layne, Dr. Worm and Mostly Harmless had the best ones, with HKD in close second. I think I like Mostly Harmless the best, so they get my vote. Jeremy Martin could've got it with better production and if the song went somewhere and said something.
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Dave - so dark...
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
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Post by Dave - so dark... »

ooh.. thanks for people who didn't think my entry was total trash, despite that it's out of time, painful, and has the same, uninspiring drum beat all the way through..

hopefully my next entry wont be inspired a couple of hours before the deadline, and I can make sure it's done decently. (haha.. as if our other songs are any better ) :P

goodbye complete sucksville! hello mostly sucksville! *grin*

seriously, thanks guys :)

i think i have to vote for doc worm this week for being so badass.
c.layne was a very close second though. nice beborn beton style electro.

oh, btw.. i totally didn't notice that caravan ray was from brisbane. *waves* yo from the other side! I don't know any of those bands, i'm ashamed to say... my knowledge of the local scene here is limited to the last 5 years or so. before then, i was paying too much attention to norway, sweden, germany and japan. ._. I was going for a 80's thing though, so yay!
I am a failure as a dave and as a human being!!
HeuristicsInc
Beat It
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Post by HeuristicsInc »

1: c layne, eggplant jones, mostly harmless, astrolamb, hkd, squirrels
2: dr worm

eggplant jones is funny. your voice should be less apathetic, though.
hkd: i love the background vox. maybe that's the best part. :)

my vote goes to c layne for infectuous drums and whatnot. infectuous in a good way, i mean.
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Adam!
Ice Cream Man
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Post by Adam! »

This is the laziest SongFight I’ve heard to date. In order of laziness:

MC Mp3: And this is the SongFight song I’ve heard with the least effort put into it. Yeah, that’s a pretty bitchin’ 2-second loop ya got there. The vocals are mixed way too loud, and they are atrocious. Whatever effect you are using is a war crime. You are constantly miles away from the beat. This is the worst double tracked vocal I’ve ever heard. Though I’m glad it’s only 0:45, it’s still incredibly lazy.
Laziness Quotient: 1 followed by a whole bunch of zeros

Garbage Clock: Neat sounds, but man this sucks. Loopville. I can’t hear any of the dialogue. It sounds like this took you half an hour. If it took more you are doing something wrong.
Laziness Quotient: Take MC Mp3's score and subtract 4

Eggplant Jones: I can play unrelated loops too! Too hot. This song losses it’s charm about half way through, and that’s sad because it’s only 80 seconds long.
Laziness Quotient: The number of loops in this song + the number of computer jargon terms used, so around 50.

DWG: Interesting filter on that bass drum. Is it a format filter and a phaser? You have some innovative sound design here, but this is still minimalist 3-part electronica, and it is very, very, very dull. I am repulsed by the synthesized voice. There is nothing catchy here. Sounds like you did this on a bored Friday night… oh, never mind.
Laziness Quotient: Your combined ages.

PesterPuss: Welcome to SongFight! What a nasty, nasty guitar tone. Give your vocals some treble, and cut some of the treble from that guitar. The vocals are pretty bad, but they hit a real low around the 1 minute mark. It’s pronounced Neil Thrun. The only thing worse than an inside joke like this is when the person telling it doesn’t get it. Repetitive guitar, ultra repetitive drums, and a very tedious second half.
Laziness Quotient: The number of times you mispronounce Neil's name.

HKD: Hmm… not liking this. The riff is just too pervasive. In places the guitar drifts pretty far from the ultra-ultra-repetitive beat; in others the bass does not complement the guitar well. The harmonies are great, and the lead vocal is decent (good for this style). Still, I’m craving some more song in here. Chorus is catchy.
Laziness Quotient: 7. I am not funny.

C Hack: One of my least favorite Csehack songs. You’ve got the Dylan vocal EQ setting perfectly. Guitar work is, of course, good. The problem is you’ve got better, more fully developed songs on your AAD. Ending sounds great, though: I woke up singing ‘my baby, she’s gone crazy’. Your vocals are good here, but not your best. Shouldn’t this song be in the Hxaro thread?
Laziness Quotient: I smoke two points before I smoke two points, and then I smoke two more.

C Layne: I don’t think I’ve ever heard a C Layne song before. Three part electronic arrangements don’t do much for me unless they have some creative sound design or synthesis going on, which this song lacks. Thank you for varying the drums, something almost no one else did. The vocal layering near the middle of the song adds some much needed ear candy. Your voice is great. Favorite part was when the entire track gets ringmod’ed during the outro.
Laziness Quotient: The number of electronic instruments in this song.

Squirrel Damage: “It’s a cruel, cruel summer!” All Ace-of-Bassisms aside, this is the first SD song I haven’t liked. Bit fight is next month. I don’t like the slow and repetitive percussion or the synth work (except for that one circular panned synth line that has heavy portamento: that’s awesome). That leaves the vocals, which feel inconsistent. I can’t promise that I understand the lyrics, but I do know that I don’t like what I can hear. The vocals are very dry. In the end it’s the sickly synths and the repetition that make me not like the song. Not really lazy, but I needed a 9th lazy song.
Laziness Quotient: 2, one for each headache you gave me.

Jeremy Martin: Actually I’m not bothered by the quiet vocals. I like the Aphex Twin-esque piano delays. The tempo speed-ups are fantastic. I crave a little more percussion than basically just a really repetitive kick. Sounds like the last track on a CD. I like. Not much here (just tinkly piano and a pad) so I’m arbitrarily grouping you in with the Lazies.
Laziness Quotient: 1. Feel proud.

<center>---- Threshold of Laziness ----</center>
AstroLamb: Best Astrolamb I’ve heard yet. Guitar work is solid and groovy. The kick drum is very loud (which is justifiable because there’s no bass) but the snare is the quietest thing in this song, which completely throws off the groove. The phasing sounds really great, as well as the muted-harmonics noise that shows up a couple times. The vocals are very unappealing: at 1:43 it sounds like Bill Clinton singing. The intro sounds identical to some Tool song I can’t place. <i>EDIT: Parabol, from Lateralus.</i>

Mostly Harmless: This song was a chance for me to go genre-diving. I figured everybody would be doing the same-song-three(or four)-different-ways thing, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that only Wreckdom and I had done that. Plat of Cow Exchange lends his great voice and amazing piano skills (seriously, this guy can keyboard circles around me), as well as some lounge-y shakers and finger snaps. Props go out to his dad for the banjo work. This song got started late in the week and I wasn’t able to add as much instrumentation as I intended, so the lounge segment runs a little long. My favorite part is definitely the electronica solo comprised entirely of Pac Man samples. I’ve always wanted to end a song with “shave and a haircut”.

Dr. Worm: DAMN YOU DR WORM! This song is great, but I hate you for it. The reason: most of the song is that descending chromatic riff that I always catch myself trying to incorporate into every song (the same riff that Green Day milks on every album). I always talk myself out of using it, and here you have applied it very well. That first fuzzy guitar sounds great. The vocals are good but inconsistent. For instance, at 0:34 you hit a high A no problem, but from 1:49 onwards you can’t hit that same note. Guitars are fantastic, drums are fantastic, especially the respective solos and breaks. In fact the solos are probably the best I’ve heard on SongFight: not technically (that’s eddies’ job), but these are the most appealing to my ear. The nearly 30 second long hanging guitar ending followed by long silence is no good. What is this song about?

WreckdoM: I can’t believe the song that has the most work put into it this week is a WreckdoM song. Oh man, I laugh every time I hear the incredulous “What!?” at 0:38, as well as the entire second segment. Wish the heavy guitar wasn’t panned hard right. Great theremin in the third and fourth sections. I really wish you’d lose that immature fourth part, as well as whoever was the creative force behind it. Thankfully it’s at the end of the song so I can skip it easily.


Well, my vote is going to whoever put the most work into their track this week, making it either Dr. Worm or Wreckdom. I never, ever thought I’d say that before.
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Post by c hack »

Hey! Just because it didn't come out that great doesn't mean I didn't put a lot of work into it. Those lyrics were a pain in the ass to write. And I had to practice the guitar part for a while before I could do it without making a bunch of mistakes.

Of course, that doesn't make it any better of a song. Ah well. They can't all be gems.
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Adam!
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Post by Adam! »

That's all true, Hack, but do you feel that you put more time into this song than anyone below you on my list? Conversely, do you feel that anyone above you exerted more effort than yourself? If the answers are 'No' and 'No' then I stand by my evaluation. If not then I apologize, although it is hard to tell because all the styles below you are so different than yours. Also my point of reference was your great AAD, so I assumed this song took you a couple of hours. You're one of my favorite fighters and I have high expectations of you*, so your reviews will always be harsher then the competition's.

You'll also note that I gave you, C Layne and Squirrel damage all the same score (a two) and ordered the 3-way tie alphabetically.

A disclaimer I should add: If anybody I panned put a hundred hours of work into their song, well, it wasn't obvious to me.


<i>* The same applies to Squirrel Damage</i>
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Post by c hack »

Puce wrote:That's all true, Hack, but do you feel that you put more time into this song than anyone below you on my list? Conversely, do you feel that anyone above you exerted more effort than yourself?
I really have no idea. That's one of the crappy things about this business. More effort != better product. In fact, I've spent hours and hours on stuff in the past that's pretty much unlistenable, as I'm sure everyone here has. I have no idea why half the songs on my AAD turned out pretty good. I'm wracking (sp?) my brains trying to figure that one out. No need to apologise though -- it was a crappy fight. I blame the moon and stars and whatnot.
Puce wrote:You're one of my favorite fighters and I have high expectations of you*, so your reviews will always be harsher then the competition's.
Woohoo!
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jb
Hot for Teacher
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Post by jb »

It's a truism of pop music that the album that took two years to write will totally suck beyond all belief, and the one that took two months will become a beloved classic.

Effort is no substitute for inspiration.
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john m
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Post by john m »

Doesn't that kinda nullify the sophomore curse, though?

P.S. - Sorry to break the system, Puce, but I probably spent a total of 6-7 hours on my song, max. 8 if you count writing. I spend roughly that long on all of my songs.
Eric Y.
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Post by Eric Y. »

no, that IS the sophomore curse. because jb said them backwards. the band throws together a demo, which is an instant cult hit, and the big label record company re-releases it and it sells 100,000 copies within months. so they throw all kinds of money and big-name producers and fancy studios at the follow-up album, and spend nine months slaving away at it, to have it come out sounding like an overworked contrived piece of dung.
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Plat
Push Comes to Shove
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Post by Plat »

Wow, I don't know if it's my time of the month or what, but these entries seemed particularly difficult to listen to. My sincere thanks and awe to those who dared to post reviews for this fight.

<b>3mcee 3mpeethree</b> - The vocal effects were interesting, but the vocals were way way way out of synch. Way way way way. Way. Way. The lyrics weren't my thing (personal preference against preachy lyrics), and the plain instrumentation left much to be desired. Thanks for keeping it short. Please please please work on timing, it'll improve the piece many fold.

<b>Astrolamb</b> - Speaking as someone who typically enjoys Astrolamb songs in all their lo-fi glory (though I'd never argue against hi-fi), nothing much grabs me here. The guitar work seems skillful and bluesy, but didn't evoke any feeling.

<b>C. Hack</b> - A seriously great, simple, folky, guy-and-guitar performance. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of folk, but that's hardly your fault. Good mix, a pleasant listen. Smiley use of simile.

<b>C. Layne</b> - Nice spy-movie groove. Would have preferred more powerful-sounding drum samples, but this works. I like the non-percussion synths (especially toward the end) and vocal layering too. I'm listening while playing Unreal Tournament 2004, and this fits in very nicely.

<b>Doctor Worm</b> - Rockity rock rock rock. Good groove and guitar performance. The real drums are a refreshing break, and much appreciated. The vocals are smooth, but still annoy me for some reason, mostly outside of the chorus. Probably just a pitch thing.

<b>Down With Gender</b> - Try as I might, I can't find anything memorable here. Sorry.

<b>Eggplant Jones</b> - Oh hey, there's the bass! Percussion is slightly interesting. Nothing too amazing. Vocals sound WreckdoM-derivative. Lyrics and inflections feel like they should make me laugh, but don't :-(. I like the voice though. If you're going for strange, then it's a target hit.

<b>Garbage Clock</b> - Huh? I think I prefer Down With Gender over this; yours seems a bit less polished, though more adventurous.

<b>Hentai Kitty Death</b> - Percussion seriously needs variation. At times the beat strays from the guitar and vocals. Harmonies are a nice touch.

<b>Jeremy Martin</b> - A bit quiet. Gradual tempo changes are interesting and very tight. Good last track for an album. Is that an effect, or are you just that good?

<b>Mostly Harmless</b> - Honestly it doesn't sound as polished and decorated as I imagined, though probably decent (and fun!) for my first Songfight collaboration. I miss the Pac-Man intro music. The shakers are a bit off at parts, my fault. Puce rocks the guitar; the Pac-Man-effect/guitar-solo part is my favorite by far. Totally made that SoundFont creation worthwhile. Took me forever to arrive at a melody and lyrics.

<b>Pesterpuss</b> - Solid guitar groove, though the distortion effect seems a little cheap (though you disclaim this in the song); consider using an amp modeler. Vocals need some work, maybe work farther from the mic and put more screaminess into it. Song reminds me of Wilco a little.

<b>Squirrel Damage</b> - Absolutely killer synth harmonies in the chorus. The bass synth hurts, a little too distorted and up-front. I wish the whole mix were a little cleaner - it seems a little raggedy, a little too distorted. Might just be that bass confusing me with the rest of it. But the other instruments are great.

<b>WreckdoM</b> - Similar (vs Mostly Harmless), but more apparent, approach of starting the song over. Very strange choices. I mostly enjoyed the bodily noises at the end, though probably wouldn't appreciate a second attempt at it. Character voices are silly and swell.


For me the vote seeems to come down to either <b>Doctor Worm</b> or <b>Squirrel Damage</b>. Doctor Worm rocks it out with great style, but Squirrel Damage threw in some sounds I hadn't heard much before. You know, the kind of harmonies that make you go "wha? that's sweeet" and take a while to wear out. This doesn't happen every week for me, so I have to give the vote to the Squirrel.
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Adam!
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Post by Adam! »

I forgot to give special props to John M and Plat. <b>John</b>: Your song is a hit with my friends. <b>Plat</b>: You are the soundfont master. Your soundfont absolutely made the PacMan solo, and the PacMan solo absolutely made the song.
john m wrote:Sorry to break the system, Puce.
Don't worry, you're in the clear. I didn't know how to divide up the effort between two people in my case, or three people in WreckdoM's case, so I arbitrarily drew the laziness line after the ten laziest songs and grouped the rest of us in alphabetical order (you were credited as 'Worm' in my first draft). Plus I know you're a rock god, so I'm sure this song just flowed from you like rich creamery butter. Mmm...
Poor June
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Post by Poor June »

not enough time for reviews

c.layne got my vote
worm second
mostly harmless 3rd
"You haven't been really bad in a long time." - jim of seattle

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tonetripper
Mean Street
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Post by tonetripper »

Mostly Harmless got my vote followed by Doc with C. Layne coming third.

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Richard WreckdoM
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Post by Richard WreckdoM »

Puce wrote: WreckdoM: I can’t believe the song that has the most work put into it this week is a WreckdoM song. Oh man, I laugh every time I hear the incredulous “What!?” at 0:38, as well as the entire second segment. Wish the heavy guitar wasn’t panned hard right. Great theremin in the third and fourth sections. I really wish you’d lose that immature fourth part, as well as whoever was the creative force behind it. Thankfully it’s at the end of the song so I can skip it easily.
That's awesome that our song is considered to have the most work put into it. Actually this song was whipped together pretty quickly. Probably a total of about 5 hours. I guess my new signature is working[/b]
Tony Asbestos
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
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Post by Tony Asbestos »

RE: Puce's review for Squirrel Damage

I think Puce really hit it on the head with his review and I am glad someone mentioned it. I challenged myself to have a song that had only moog and drum machine, and that's what I did. It took me a couple hours, which is way way less than any other song I have submitted. It certainly isn't the most engaging song, but it has its moments. But yes, I committed the sin of sloth on this track. *weeps* I just hate having a week go by with no submission from me! I get antsy if I can't check to see if someone reviewed my song.
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Adam!
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Post by Adam! »

All right, I'm back to considering Wreckdom the product of a bunch of slackers. Actually, 5 hours X 3 people = probably the most effort in this fight (myself not included, because I work slow as molasses). Anyway, thanks for keepin' it fun.

And Squirrel: Congrats on the win! Thank you for beating "Follow-This-Link-And-Vote-For-Me" Jones.

<i>EDIT: Grammar</i>
Last edited by Adam! on Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
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john m
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Post by john m »

Remembered I'd forgotten to answer this.
Puce wrote:Dr. Worm: What is this song about?
Most of it is written intentionally vaguely. The parts that do have particular meaning are about a failed relationship. The protagonist is an escapist, clinging to hope and trying to be as optimistic as he can for the future; however, he knows that if he sees or hears from the girl in question again, he will probably emotionally crumble.
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Lunkhead
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Post by Lunkhead »

Your Pac-Man sound effect solo is awesome, Puce!!
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