A Woman On Paper (forgotten reviews?)

[anti-m]

Blue is one of my favorite records!!

Heh, me too.

It's funny this should come up now, because I've been shaking my head in despair at the comparisons my track has been getting -- Natalie Merchant? Tori Amos? 4 Non Blondes?? Noooooooo!

(I need to workshop my style, clearly!)

I suppose my stuff is what happens when you grow up listening to Joni but lack her talent. Perhaps this is what happened to poor little Tori Amos as well.

Apologies again for the tardy reviews!! I swear I will post reviews tonight! I've been wasting lots of time swimming and cutting up old sweaters. Good times!

--Em

[Billy's Little Trip]

Anti, the 4 non blondes comment was the husky low tone to high tone thing. Truth is, you're WAY better than the singer in 4 non blondes and your music is better too. That was just the first thing that came to mind.

[MintyHandy]

Since you were kind enough to review (much appreciated!), and since you asked...

...the distorted ukelele. Why not just use a guitar? Genuinely curious.

The right channel carries mostly distorted guitar, with only guitar during the chorus; the left channel carries mostly distorted uke, and the solo is uke as well.

The why?

#1: I just bought the guitar, literally the day before I recorded, and can't play it well; I have better rhythm and faster chord changes with the uke, so I used it to provide the "chop" between full power chord strums (whereas the guitar is muted between PCs); and

#2: In the uke thread, I promised I would do grunge uke.

Is she a man? Is she ugly?

When I wrote it, the first verse was an old woman past her prime who overtanned and overdressed in a (poorly-conceived) attempt to cover her age instead of just accepting it -- and the second verse was a transvestite. Didn't really come out in practice, but my goal was to do an AC/DC style thing with grunge uke involved, so I didn't worry about the lyrics that much (other than rhythmically.)

[irwin]

Anti-M

I like the vocal effect in the verse. Perhaps just in contrast, but the vocals in the chorus sound flat. End is a little abrubt. Good song.

B. Ellison

Nicely done. The accordian in the chorus is a nice touch. The bridge sounds a little chaotic and discordant, which I suppose could be intentional, but it's a jarring contrast with the rest of the song to my ear. My main complaint would be that the instrumentation is a little samey throughout, which makes the song feel too long. Some textural changes would go a long way towards keeping my interest to the end. But then again, I have never been accused of having a particularly long atten- oooh, what's that shiny thing over there?

Billy's Little Trip

A little muddy, as others have said. Vocals could be clearer. I like the build in the intro, but it sounds somehow disconnected from the rest of the song, as if it were recorded in a different room. Similarly the mix sounds a little disconnected, more like a collection of tracks and less like a whole band playing in the same room at the same time.

Caravan Ray

Easily the most unique take on the title. Nice collection of loops and noises. Not a bad song.

Cynthia Size and the Eclectic Spoons feat. Billy's Little Trip

I like this a lot. Creepy electronic voice really fits the song. Good call on the distorted guitars, absolutly essential. Percussion is a little low in the mix. With a song like this is should be out there pumping and driving the song with weird thunky clunky noises. A hair long.

The Disciples Of Beer

Noodlefest. Sounds like three guitar players wanking simultaneously. Levels are a little quiet, obviously in an attempt to make me turn up the volume for the final ow- you got me.

Eight Legged Oedipus

Nice. The pauses are just the right length. Guitar sounds good in both the quiet plucky bits and the loud strummed bits without sounding overcompressed. Vocal could stand out a little more, sounds like it's competing with the guitar for spectrum in places. Love the hummed bit in the bridge, and the "wait- wait- wait" bit also. Nice changeups.

Just in case

Doubled vocal, while cool sounding, seems a bit out of place with the strummy guitar texture. Mix sounds a little unbalanced, stereo-wise, more going on in my left ear than the right.

King Arthur

I like this a lot. Mix sounds great. Drums sound a little flat and robotic, should swing a little more. Lead guitar track sounds a little out of place with the rest of the instruments, could sit better in the mix. Great song.

Klownhole

Starts off pretty rocking and the devolves into joke-mëtal. Although I have to admit I love the "Fuckin' retartds. Reeeeeetards!" bit.

Masterhyde

Love this. Nice flow and a cool beat. My only quibble would be that the end seemed abrupt. I wanted it to keep going!

MC Eric B

Like Klownhole, I can't decide if you're serious about this. In the end I just don't buy it.

Mike Lamb

Nice story. I like the way the instrumentation builds. Weird panning of the drums, but I think it works. I absolutly love the noodly clean electric guitar bit. Bass sounds really good, nice and tight. I love the effect on the guitar solo, stands out just enough without being too different. Drums seem a little loose timing wise throughout. I think this is my favorite song of the fight from a songwriting perspective, production issues asside.

Minty Handy

Great sound. Reverb on the vocals sounds a little weird, out of place with the rest of the instruments. Easily my favorite of the "woman on paper but really a man" songs. Dig it.

Nocturnal Brothers

Ow. A few nice noodles amongst the clipping, but in the end it sounds like a drunk jam session. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The Older Brothers

Not my bag I guess. I like the screechy pitch bent guitar bit.

Paco Del Stinko

Odd blend of guitars and synth bass, but it works, I think. Love the synthy solos. Stellar guitar work, as usual. Drums do sound a little fake,
especially in the rapid snare hits. Overall sounds really good as your stuff always does, and a good song.

Ross Durand

Guitar sounds nice. I like the harmony vocals. Mix sounds nice and balanced. The low guitar string does sound distractingly slappy at times. Well done. This could really use a short instrumental break, something like a piccolo trumpet solo ala The Boxer.

Steve Durand

I dig it. Nice and jazzy. Brass as always sounds fantastic. Vocals sound good as well. The electric piano is perfect. Bass has a great groove. My only quibble- and it's a minor one- is that flanged electric guitar that comes in in the solo. Just sounds really out of place and doesn't feel like it adds anything. A favorite.

Steve Hand Puppet and His Poorly Considered Solo Effort

I like the drum pattern in the intro, but it quickly falls apart after that. Drums don't feel like they fit with the song. Bass lacks definition, just kind of blends in with the guitars.

Suckweasel

Me. Came out OK. Mix is a little muddier than I intended, I think the bass is largely responsible, but I couldn't find a way to EQ/compress it to remove the woofiness and provide some punch without also sucking all the life out of it. Yes, I know I can't sing, so please take any critisim of your vocals with that in mind.

Thanks for the Frisbee

Not a bad guy-n-guitar strummer. Could have used some percussion, especially in the chorus. Vocals are a little off-pitch in places, but in general not bad (And of course I'm living in a glass house here). Good song overall.

Tiny Robots

Love the synth intro. Lots of cool synth lines and guitar noodles winding around each other. Vocals sound great.

Wages

Hard to hear anything through the mud. What I can hear of the vocals sounds pretty good. There's a cool noodly guitar bit wandering around, but it's too low in the mix. Crank it up! Could use some EQ and panning to separate the instruments in the mix a little.

Favorites:
Anti-M
King Arthur
Cynthia Size and the Eclectic Spoons feat. Billy's Little Trip
Paco Del Stinko
Mike Lamb
Steve Druand

[irwin]

Suckweasel

Great surf vibe out of the box. I listened to this on my "good" stereo and didn't like the mix, but listening again on crap computer speakers, I really like it -- did you mix on crap computer speakers? The chorus lyrics don't work for me, but the rest does, and executed with terrific harmonies. Your guitar solo made me cringe a bit, but I can't figure out why. Shame about the fade-out ending, and I say that as someone who faded out his ending a few weeks ago. So we are brothers in shame.

These days I mostly mix on headphones. Not my preference, but it's hard to find time when the baby is not sleeping and I have time to sit down and mix. I do have a set of typical computer speakers set up on the board and I usually try to at least check the mix on them, since I figure that's what a lot of people will be listening on.

I agree about the fade-out ending. Not usually something I would prefer either, but this song just felt like it needed one.

Thanks for the review!

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy's Little Trip

A little muddy, as others have said. Vocals could be clearer. I like the build in the intro, but it sounds somehow disconnected from the rest of the song, as if it were recorded in a different room. Similarly the mix sounds a little disconnected, more like a collection of tracks and less like a whole band playing in the same room at the same time.

Believe it or not, the disconnected arrangement is intentional. It's become my signature in a way. This sounds gay, but I like how musicals are arranged. From start to finish, they are very dramatic and bring your emotions from top to bottom and back again. So I try to arrange my music in that fashion. I don't want the same energy or emotion level to stay at one level throughout the song. I like drastic changes that could be two or three completely different songs if I wanted to break them up. The only problem is that when I arrange songs the way I like, they run over 4 minutes and sometimes around 5 or 6 mins. I've noticed this doesn't go over real good here at SF, so I've started playing around with a few new basic starting arrangements to cut the songs down to 3'ish mins.
So, there is a rhyme to my reason. But I'm still experimenting to see what other ears are feeling. Thanks Irwin.

[Spud]

Last chance to vote. I am going to post results and a new title tonight.

SPUD

[wages]

Last chance to vote. I am going to post results and a new title tonight.

SPUD

Yippee!!

[Lunkhead]

anti-m
i like this one. i like the lo-fi sound, and the staccato music in the verses. the singing treads the line for me between suitably and overly emotional. and some of those high notes are a little iffy pitch-wise, but generally i'm into the singing. tops.

b. ellison
i really like the instrumentation in this song. i'm not so into your singing style, maybe singing this in a lower key would work better with your laise faire (sp?) sort of style. great instrumentation, though, and the mix is nice, another good lo-fi recording. some good lyrics in there, too. probably my favorite.

billy's little trip
your mix sounds very mono. i definitely hear the nirvana comparisons. the chord changes, and some of the melodies, and definitely that screaming part during the verses, are all reminiscent of nirvana. this could use doubled guitars that are panned left and right, and some real drums. try asking Jolly Roger for help, he's awesome. then repeat of "heaven sent" is also very nirvana-y. and the solo is really simple and melodic, again a common feature of nirvana songs. all these similarities are good, in my opinion. i like the dynamics in this song. dang, some panning would really improve this. anyway, good song, tops.


caravan ray
this one's not really my cup of tea. i like that it's sparse/minimalist to some degree. just not really my bag, though.

cynthia size, etc.
first of all, this song is way way way too long. 4:40?! not to be mean, but if you're going to use synthesized vox, most people have a limited tolerance for that, so keep your song relatively short (<=3min.). also, this is pretty repetitive, and doesn't change much the whole time, frankly. that makes the length even harder to handle. would've been ok if it were 2 min. or so.

the disciples of beer
you need a pop filter/windscreen. put a sock over your mic or something at least. decent song, but the recording is pretty crappy sounding. is that guitar direct recorded? mic'ing it would be better. nice tambourine. some panning would be good in this song, too. also a bass guitar, which is either not there or too quiet.

8LO
really good song. you're a good singer/songwriter. probably my second favorite of the fight, though i concur that a full band treatment of this might be better.

Just in Case
that male voice sounds familiar. is it mostess or somebody? nice chorus. "sycophantic" (sp?) kind of sticks out, though, sounds a little shoe-horned. i hear a flute or whistle playing in this, that would be nice. again some panning would be nice, it sounds pretty mono.

king arthur
the king, keeping it real. solid song, nice harmony vox. not really my bag, though. i think i would like it with different drums/bass. something about the rhythm of the drums/bass is a little repetitive to me.

klownhole
ouch, that is loud. not much to surprise me here. i'd love to hear some higher-fi klownhole. this song's not doing a lot for me.

masterhyde
dude, smooove. not working for me, though. the beat isn't that exciting. the chorus is a bit preachy for me.

mc eric b
this beat's a little better. your rhymes are alright, but your voice is not very charismatic to me. it needs some more ... braggadocio.

mike lamb
your kick drums sounds a little off the beat from the guitar or something in the intro. you should vary the way you end the lines of your chorus more, like ending some of them higher. this song's ok, but it's very laid back. maybe some big reverb would help turn the sparse sound into something grander sounding. and some harmony/backup vox, layered up, would be nice.

minty handy
Yook! Oh wait, no, it's just uke. ok song. i like when the lead guitars harmonize.

nocturnal bros.
a shit on paper.

older bros.
sounds really disjointed to me. not my bag, sorry.

paco
i like the analog synth sound, but maybe having it cut out during the verses would be cool. the synth solo part is fun. i like the breakdown in the bridge, too, and the guitar solo's ok. overall the song's kinda just ok to me, though.

ross durand
probably the best song in the fight that's actually about georgia o'keefe. (it is, right?) nice guitar playing, and singing. good stuff, tops.

steve durand
nice horns, of course. that intro's kinda long. i'm not into the reverb on the vox, something a little drier and more intimate sounding might work better with the style of the music and the lyrical content. is there some guitar in the during the bridge or whatever it is? it sounds kinda plinky and not so good. nice keyboards, though.

steve hand puppet, etc.
i also like that you say "porns". something sounds a bit off in the chorus, like the bass or guitar or something is not in the right key. i like the lyrical fakeout after "too young for dating". the lead guitar's way too loud. and the whole song's kinda long over all. not too bad, though. there have definitely been way more poorly considered entries.

suckweasel
decent song. crappy fadeout. not much else to say.

thanks for the frisbee
sounds like some pitch issues in the singing. i like that guitar in the background, it could be louder. this could use some bass, too. i'm not into how the backup vox in the chorus drift between harmony and unison singing. this could use some percussion, even just simple stuff like shaker, claps, tambourine, etc. decent song.

tiny robots
this is a very strange song, but it's grown on me. sorry about the guitar noodling, maybe there will be a remix with less guitar... i can't believe some people aren't into the hand claps, though. making their songfight debuts on hand claps are our friend jennifer and amy. thanks ladies! (also on claps, ken and erin.) i like the bridge the best. nice bass line there, ken.

wages
your singing sounds a bit atonal some times, no offense. it just sounds like you're sliding up and down between notes a bit too much or something. you've got kind of an eddie vedder thing going sometimes, though. i like that you switch to slide guitar sometimes. ok song overall.

[Ross]

ross durand
probably the best song in the fight that's actually about georgia o'keefe. (it is, right?) nice guitar playing, and singing. good stuff, tops.

Well thanks very much. Yes, it is about O'Keefe. my concept had been to give her a sort of Vincent (Starry night) (Don McClean) treament. Anyway, thanks for noticing the words. Same to Billy's Little trip who I believe mentioned the lyric concstruction, too. I know in the midst of a 20-odd song fight it's sometimes inconvenient to take a close listen the the words and I appreciate it, I'm sure the song loses a little without connecting to the references.

[anti-m]

I'm so sorry that these have taken so long... and I'm still not done! Suckweasel, Frisbee, Robots, and Wages will have to wait until tomorrow for the balance of these reviews.

Also-- I'm lacking a spell checker here. So forgive any moronic spelling mistakes. I'm a terrible speller when left to my own devices.

Oh, and a star means high score.

anti-m: Oh crap, I didn't mean to whine about reviews in the thread - reviews are great! This song is less than great. I ran out of time. Bah!

*B-Ellison: I really dig this. The instrumentation is fantastic. Is that a real concertina/accordian and glockenspiel? Except! That piano arpegio is way too prevalent and consistent. I like it, but I'd limit its appearance to dynamic high points of the song. Great Vox. This is in the top tier of this week's songs for me.

BLT: Hmmmm... I'll have to hie on over to ye olde lyric thread to check out the words to this one. This is another strong entry. I'm really loving those vocals. The decision to have the sharp stop circa 2:30 is great. I'd like to hear you experiment with even more angular constructions.

Caravan Ray: Some of the funniest lyrics in this fight. I laughed out loud at "dutchman's bicycle" and would have gone running to Dan Savage for explanation had you not "come clean" (HAH!) about its origins. Musically I'm not as excited about this entry, but it's not bad either. You've got some nice sounds in there.

Cynthia Size and the Spoons: Wow -- this is actually pretty great. It gets very dynamically stagnant for me, and for that reason seems a little on the long side. I think this issue could be resolved by a different mix though. I think the song itself is strong. I do love the haunting dissonance of Cynthia's voice! Good job programming that lassie!

Disciples of Beer:
Whenever I think about women bench-pressing, I think of Madeline Albright.
This entry is falling into that genre-bias category for me, as I'm not a big fan of meandering guitar noodling unless it's being done by Doug Martsch. The elements seem to be a little bit ungrounded and perhaps even out of synch with eachother. The structure is pretty loosey goosey for something so undynamic. (I know...I'm obsessed with dynamics. WTF.)

*Eightlegged Oedipus: This might be my favorite of the fight. If this is, in fact, just a demo, then I'd like to hear the finished product. Don't throw too many more instruments at this! I like it as is for its laid-back minimalism. You have a lovely voice.

Justin Case: I like this a lot. The lyrics are great. This is a solid song through and through. The percussion on the bridge is very cool. Not much to say, but excellent work!

King Arthur: This is excellently done. It's not quite my cup of tea, but I think that quibble may be in the rendition rather than the song itself. I'd like to hear Johnny Cash cover this. If you could dirty this song up a little bit, I'd pull her out of the gutter and make an honest woman out of her.

Klownhole: Ahhh! Klownhole! This is hilarious and great as usual. "Bagels, Lox, and Muffin Tops." Indeed. Does Klownhole ever make live appearances? The denizens of Stumptown would worship you. My only complaint is that your songs sometimes seem a little flat -- not pitchwise, but energy-wise. Too much level 11. 11 would sound louder with some, say, 5 mixed in.

*Masterhyde: Wow! This is pretty great! ...And a welcome departure from the usual SF fare. Ok, bear with my lack of hiphop vocabulary here -- I'm less in love with the instrumentation than I am with your vocals, which are absolutely top notch. Although the backing has a sort of old-school charm, I'd loooove to hear your stuff with some funkier beats and samples -- or with another songfighter lending some additional "analog" instrumentation to your tracks. This is another top entry.

MC Eric B: Oh dear, your track is done no favors by its placement after Masterhyde's entry. This is not clever enough to be nerdcore, although I'm admittedly not terribly well acquainted with the genre. The issues I have with this track have already been eloquently addressed by others in the forum. I too look forward to your non-nerdcore entry.

Mike Lamb: This aint too bad, but it doesn't particularly grab me. Bring that guitar up in the mix, and drop those drums a little lower. I like the little guitar expressions on the oooooooohs. Like the solo a little less. Maybe a more oomphy arrangement would change my mind on this one.

*Minty Handy: I like this a lot -- Not sure I get the lyrical focus change from aging beauty to drag queen, but the lyrics are clever, none the less. I agree with the previous comments that have compared this entry to the Cars. I love the Cars! I don't want to encourage you to flat out ape their style, but it would be nice to hear some of more of the Cars-style improvisational vocal "flourishes" in this. Like the way you hit the long "long" in the opening lines. I like that. More please!

Nocturnal Brothers: This is terrible, but I kinda like it. The vocals are deranged in an excellent way. The drums are deranged in a much less appealing way -- like an explosion in a static factory. I like the guitar part, but it gets a little repetitive. I wouldn't abandon this genre entirely, but I'd tweak the approach a little.

Older Brothers: More brothers huh? This song has moments of Brainiac-ness (the band, that is) and in those brief moments I like it. The good moments tend to be the those featuring the crazy guitar. More crazier guitar. The vocals aren't doing much for me.

Paco del Stinko: Great lyrics here! They remind me of junior high. As is often the case for me with your songs, I find this very technically well done, but somehow lacking the visceral "zing" to pull me back for subsequent listens. (Why is that??) I'd like to hear you do something really sloppy one of these days. (Jesus, that sounded worse than I meant it to!) I like the part with multiple voices the best.

Ross Durand: Nice finger-picking! I like many of the lyrics too. The music itself is a tad on the predictable side in terms of its chord progressions and changes, but it's very sweet.

Steve Durand: At the beginning this really reminds me of "Black Magic Woman" for some reason. The horns are fabu as usual, and are really my favorite part. What are those wooshing sounds in the background at the break? I don't like those. I'm liking your vocals more on this entry than on previous efforts -- I like the roughnes around the edges. I'd continue to push that angle. This is really pretty beautiful -- I'd like to hear it with a sultry female vocal -- could Erin oblige, perhaps?

Steve Hand Puppet: I like the velvety instrumentation, but it's a little hard to hear over the vocals, which I like less. They seem very wordy, and a little uneventful. I might like them more if I could hear all that interesting stuff that's happening in the background. "Girl with a taper?" Huh. I picture a Victorian chick holding a candle. Yeah, the repetitive vocals bug me, but I really like what I can hear of the rest of it. The song is not helped by the "slight return." I'd loose that too.


So yes... to prevent "review fatigue" the rest will follow. Soon. Seriously. I apologize for the tardiness.

-Em[/url]

[Paco Del Stinko]

Congratulations to Eight Legged Oedipus! And thanks to all for the heaping pile of reviews - good work and well done!

[Meatwad]

Klownhole: Ahhh! Klownhole! This is hilarious and great as usual. "Bagels, Lox, and Muffin Tops." Indeed. Does Klownhole ever make live appearances? The denizens of Stumptown would worship you. My only complaint is that your songs sometimes seem a little flat -- not pitchwise, but energy-wise. Too much level 11. 11 would sound louder with some, say, 5 mixed in.

I looked that up on the internet, and apparently that's referred to as *dynamics*. I agree with your general equation, but I would change the values. If a range of 5 to 11 works, then I think a range of 11 to 17 would work better. QED.

HOWEVER, our Pink Ribbon entry was created to give everyone what they crave. Honky-tonk droning with 5 to 11 dynamics. For the people.

Klownhole has played live a couple of times. Songfight Wet n Wild in Seattle, and also Spud's birthday party. We play where we are cordially invited to play. So....2 times. Maybe there were more. We are usually very drunk when we play.

[EightLeggedOedipus]

Thanks to everyone who voted or even appreciated my song. Thanks especially to those who took the time review the fight.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Congrats 8 leg.

[glennny]

Congratulations Eight Legged Oedipus great song!

[wages]

Ditto, great job Eight Legged Oedipus!

[Masterhyde]

Late reviews yet again....

Anti-M

I like the chorus in this one, although I was having trouble making out the words even though they seemed pretty clear. Interesting vocal method on the verses

B. Ellison

Cool song, just not my style. I could say something about the "girl" instead of "woman" but heck it's close enough.

Billy’s Little Trip

Guitars are cool, didn't quite catch the woman on paper reference though. Seems like it should be called "Heaven sent" or whatever the lyric was.

Caravan Ray

I like the vocal style on this one. The music is ok, seems like it should do something else at some point. What exactly, I don't know. All in all a nice song though.

Cynthiasize&EclecticSp00ns featuring BLT

The vocals on this one sound like MC Hawking's sister. The guitars are pretty nice. Unique song all in all.

Disciples of Beer

I have no words.......I know you don't care that I don't understand.....And I don't.....but.......interesting bit. Guitars are nice. Very unique take on the title.

Eight Legged Oedipus

Didn't quite catch the concept of the lyrics here. Guitar strums were cool, but a bit loud in the mix. Ok song, but didn't do much for me.

Just In Case

Guitars give a nice rhythm in this one. Overall the song is ok, nothing grabs me though.

King Arthur

Nice chorus contrasting "on paper" and "in practice". I like the groove as well. Vocals work. A possible vote here.

Klownhole

This one isn't my style. Hard for me to evaluate. Didn't catch the "woman on paper" references in the song either.

Master Hyde

I think I had a decent idea for the music but couldn't come up with much for the vocals here. Also did the chorus at the very last minute after everything else was recorded as I just couldn't think of anything.

MC Eric B

Nice turn of topic about her acting like a man. Beat is pretty nice as well. Lyrics are cool too.

Mike Lamb

Nice. Real nice. Although the "I'm in love with yooo--oooo--oooo" seemed kind of forced. Same with "sign your life awaaa--aaaa--aaaaayyy". But overall this is nice. Possible vote.

Minty Handy

I like the guitars here. Didn't quite expect it from the start where the guitars went but it worked. Again, this one seemed to end too soon as when it ended I looked at my music player to see why it cut off. Vocals remind me or that cat that used to be the lead singer of "The Cars". Or maybe just "You might think".

Nocturnal Brothers

Please turn something down. This would have been better in my opinion if everything was turned down some. Other than that this doesn't do much for me.

Paco Del Stinko

Cool groove here. "primoridal slime", did I hear that right? Guitars are nice on the break. Vocals work with the beat.

Ross Durand

Good vocal doubling here. Guitars were mellow. "Anywaaaaaaay" seemed a bit forced.

Steve Durand

This one has a smoky vibe, like I'm walking into an after hours spot for a drink after work. I like the basic groove. Horns seem a tad disjointed at the "solo" point. A nice effort overall though.

Steve Hand Puppet

I like the guitar groove on the verses, but all in all this one didn't grab me much. Although I must admit the vocals and rhythm on the chorus are kinda catchy. Actually this sounds like it needs more work.

Suck Weasel

Nice effort here. This one seems to "go together" as far as the vocals and the music. At times the vocals are a bit pitchy on the high notes, but it works nonetheless.

Thanks for the Frisbee

Guitar was nice. Harmony was a little off but cool effort. "Thinkful wishing" was an interesting lyric.

Tiny Robots

Like like the vocal style and tone on this one. The background music doesn't do much for me, but the change works.

Wages

Vocals were odd. On the chorus....the vocals didn't work for me. Guitars were ok. Decent effort, nothing grabbed me though.

The Older Brothers

The intro is good. The main groove seems kinda abstract and doesn't draw me in. Vocals are kind of odd. Topic is an exact translation of the title. Interesting. The chorus is even from the inspiration.

So finally there's King Arthur and Mike Lamb. Gotta give this one to King Arthur.

[anti-m]

Ok! The Rest!

Suckweasel: This is a perfectly competent pop song, but it's not making me want to get up and dance at the prom. I think it's a little too generic. Not without charm, but very straightforward. No surprises here. I like the hand claps. The lyrics are pretty good, though! Vocals could use a little work. I like them more as they get gruffer throughout the song.

Thanks for the Frisbee: This is high-ranking. The vocals are great. "Thinkful wishing" is very nice wordplay. I'd like to hear a little more distinct division between the chorus and verses. The song is pretty solid though!

Tiny Robots: Oh, you little automatons. You've proven that you can construct delightfully lovely pop ditties. This song is no exception. But I'm not excited. In fact, I'm a little bored. Don't get me wrong, you guys are very talented. I want to hear you guys do something completely out of left-field! Something super-experimental. You guys have the chops to make serious art -- so let's hear it!

Wages: I understand that you are a fan of Mr. Vedder, but I have to confess, that vocal affectation drives me crazy. I often can barely stand it when Mr. Vedder himself uses it. I'd like to hear what you'd sound like without relying on that style of singing. The vocals are also, as they say in SF-land, "a little pitch-y." These elements, combined with a general looseness make it hard for me to hear the song in there. All that said, I think there might actually BE a good song in there -- there are elements grabbing my interest -- but the idea would need to be excavated a bit.

Right! That's all she wrote. This was a hard fight to review for some reason. I'm going to go back to cutting up old sweaters.

--Emster

[anti-m]

Klownhole: Ahhh! Klownhole! This is hilarious and great as usual. "Bagels, Lox, and Muffin Tops." Indeed. Does Klownhole ever make live appearances? The denizens of Stumptown would worship you. My only complaint is that your songs sometimes seem a little flat -- not pitchwise, but energy-wise. Too much level 11. 11 would sound louder with some, say, 5 mixed in.

I looked that up on the internet, and apparently that's referred to as *dynamics*. I agree with your general equation, but I would change the values. If a range of 5 to 11 works, then I think a range of 11 to 17 would work better. QED.

This make me laugh. And yes, drunken Klownhole should consider this West Coast Tour thing.

[quote="anti-m "the loud-then-soft nazi""](I know...I'm obsessed with dynamics. WTF.) [/quote]

[Billy's Little Trip]

billy's little trip
your mix sounds very mono. i definitely hear the nirvana comparisons. the chord changes, and some of the melodies, and definitely that screaming part during the verses, are all reminiscent of nirvana. this could use doubled guitars that are panned left and right, and some real drums. try asking Jolly Roger for help, he's awesome. then repeat of "heaven sent" is also very nirvana-y. and the solo is really simple and melodic, again a common feature of nirvana songs. all these similarities are good, in my opinion. i like the dynamics in this song. dang, some panning would really improve this. anyway, good song, tops.

It was panned pretty hard, but it's funny how bouncing with tape starts bleeding the right and left back together. My future stuff will be digi and mixed much better....I hope. Thanks Lunk.

BLT: Hmmmm... I'll have to hie on over to ye olde lyric thread to check out the words to this one. This is another strong entry. I'm really loving those vocals. The decision to have the sharp stop circa 2:30 is great. I'd like to hear you experiment with even more angular constructions.

I keep hearing "angular". More angles? Now that I'm getting away from tape, I hope to be a bit more understandable. But I'm verbally lazy anyway, so I'll probably still be hard to understand sometimes. Thanks for the comments Anti

[anti-m]

I keep hearing "angular". More angles?

"Angular" is a style of music -- You can think of it as the opposite of "flow-y" music. Think "start and stop." Think "loud then soft." It is pointy and sharp and not for everybody. For your homework listen to some Shellac or, from the Songfight Archives, Son of Supercar. Angular done right is good stuff.