Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

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slats
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by slats »

jast wrote:Slats -- 12/15.
C:2, L:3 (interesting angle), F:2, P:3 (I'll ignore the one or two places where the vocals don't quite hit the right note), M:2 (is that a flanger on the vocals? Don't like. Is that a flanger on the guitar? Meh. Anyway, you're definitely getting better at this.)
Thanks for the review. Getting better at this is definitely my goal. :)

As for the effects, I used presets in Logic and toyed with them a little bit. There was no flanger on either the vocals or the guitar. I probably overdid it with the vox, leaving the reverb and ensemble in place, and adding a tape delay. The flanging sound on the lead guitar -I'm sure- is a rotary speaker simulation that I have to say I rather liked. The rhythm guitar (if that's what you were talking about) has some tremolo on it, but not much else.

The community will have to indulge me as I experiment with this assortment of bells and whistles at my disposal. :lol:
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Phil. Redmon. »

mr. eric wrote:the hell yeahs
- It makes me happy when you like our song.
mr. eric wrote:shame on you
- Yeah. I mean, I've pulled my share of stunts in the past, but, you know, there's a pretty well defined line between being funny and being a dick.
jast wrote:12
- that was a treat, too. I know we don't always rub you the right way. Also, tip of the hat for noticing the olde-tyme reverb.
rone wrote:shame on you for being elitist
- Oh, rone. They broke the mold with you.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by jast »

Billy's Little Trip wrote:There's no pitch correction. I don't play that game. Give me a time spot that sounds like it when you get a chance, I'm curious now. Thanks for the review. :wink:
Yeah, well, it puzzled me because I wouldn't have expected pitch correction on your vocals. Anyway, it's in the very last "little bit more", the one with the high notes, mainly on the "bit", ca. 2:55. In other places I'm not sure.
slats wrote:As for the effects, I used presets in Logic and toyed with them a little bit. There was no flanger on either the vocals or the guitar.
Some form of phasing perhaps. This can happen unintentionally, e.g. if you use very short delays. So reverb may actually cause it too if you're out of luck. It's not really too bad anyway.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by BabylonHoruv »

Rone Rivendale wrote:Do you honestly believe I do bad songs on purpose?

Not shame on me, shame on you for being elitist.
I don't mind people hating my songs. I will admit this wasn't my best. ON the other hand i am not trying to make things that are difficult to listen to. I know music theory and i do use it.

However my taste in music is very different from most of you, and chances are all my songs are going to be a bit challenging to listen to for those of you with conventional palates. If so I wont be insulted when you post your review as "another song by that freak babylon, skipped without listening"

I'm not going to stop making the kind of music I enjoy though, and I hope maybe it will attract some other musicians who are on the edge to submit.

(this wasn't really in response to Rone so much as the post he was replying to but his post is quicker to quote. Oh, and Country Martyrs is a great band name)
Last edited by BabylonHoruv on Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

jast wrote: Yeah, well, it puzzled me because I wouldn't have expected pitch correction on your vocals. Anyway, it's in the very last "little bit more", the one with the high notes, mainly on the "bit", ca. 2:55. In other places I'm not sure.
Hmmm, maybe my ears are hearing what I did there and I'm not picking up any odd pitch, other than maybe a tad out of key with each other. By each other, I mean the backup vocals. I recorded the right and left bu vox separately for effect. That must be it.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Teplin »

Generic wrote:Shame on you... etc.
Well, this fight is a bit of a fluke because of the so called "Rone Challenge", which led some people to produce intentionally bad songs. And yes, I wish that it would have been moved to a sidefight, to reduce the load on reviewers for this already massive fight. But in general, I don't think people on here are trolling by producing intentionally terrible music. As has been pointed out, people have different tastes and skill levels.

If new people are being scared away by a couple songs they find unpleasant, do we really need them? I mean, I don't love everything I hear on here, but we're always free to skip things we find unlistenable, and concentrate on the things we like. And anyway, being at least a little open minded is the most positive trait a songfight reviewer can have, in my opinion.

I guess I'm responding because I also really, really value the spirit of the community here. The reviews are great, the people are great, and I'm learning new things all the time. But the regulars who make music you don't care for are part of that community too, and I see no evidence that they "don't care about music". Even the Beatles made some music that many people find unlistenable (Honey Pie, or Revolution 9, anyone?). I cringe when it's suggested that people here need to have "a desire to be liked". No offense intended, I just have a belief that musicians need to follow their own muse and be true to themselves. I much prefer this attitude:
BabylonHoruv wrote:I'm not going to stop making the kind of music I enjoy though, and I hope maybe it will attract some other musicians who are on the edge to submit.
Anyway, I agree... It IS a wonderful community project. I'm really happy to be here and really grateful to those who take the time to review.
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Chadderandom
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Chadderandom »

BabylonHoruv wrote:I don't mind people hating my songs.
I didn't either but after a while, a constant stream of negative reviews is kind of depressing, which is partially why I submitted this weeks song in the form its in. Because I had a version that I felt proud of and I could just see every single negative review, so I submitted the version with less emotion invested in it. Which I still kind of feel emotionally invested in despite the lack of thought (but not effort) put in to it because its still my lyrics and I did everything in the song, so its still all me and those taking a dump sounding vocals were a creative choice and I had to get the guitar tone right, so there was some thought put into it. And I still don't think it sounds that bad, its somewhat aesthetically pleasing on some level to me.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by MisterQuoons »

Generic wrote:Shame on you. I don't know if it's just two, three, or a full nine of you guys, horsing around, being intentionally terrible, but I wish you'd take a step back and look at what you're doing. There are real people sitting at their computers, checking this site, listening to these songs, and writing these reviews for you. They're volunteering their time to a spirit of community. Without that spirit of community, I'd have never learned half of what I know about recording, and I'm still barely competent. But when you submit songs with no intention of improving, no intention of being any good in the first place, and no apparent desire to be liked, you degrade the value of this community. You make it less pleasant to participate, which makes fewer people bother, which hurts those of us who actually care about the music here.

Think of the random people who find this site every day. The songs they click often determine whether they'll hang around. I'll leave it to Spud and JB to wonder how many potential regulars have been scared off by the downright abhorrent signal-to-noise ratio this fight. But to the perpetrators: Songfight is a wonderful community project, and you have noticeably degraded its quality. You've painted a mustache on a beautiful mural. Shame on you.
You know, I'll tell you something interesting about beautiful murals: I see them every day. People paint them all the time, and to tell you the truth, after awhile, I just sort of tune them out. I walk past so many of them every day, that even though I'm perfectly aware that someone probably put a great deal of effort into them, I'm so desensitized to beauty at this point, I find it hard to care. It's not worth my time of day to stop and analyze every well-painted, beautiful thing I see, just so some jackass who went to art school can feel that much better about their inborn talents; because meanwhile I'm sketching shitty drawings of Homer Simpson in my notebook and taking the bus to work.

By contrast, if I happened to notice a beautiful mural that someone had drawn a mustache on, I'd probably stop and take a look. Fuck, I might even take a picture.

You know something, the name "Jon Eric" sounds familiar, so I'm fairly certain I've heard your work before, although I'm going through my iTunes now, and I notice that I haven't saved anything of yours. Perhaps your music is just a beautiful (or, more likely, merely aesthetically palatble) decoration that I've just walked by? Can't honestly say, as I don't really remember. Maybe someone ought to paint a mustache on one of your songs; maybe then I'd remember it.

Point is, this ain't art, asshole. This is the goddamned internet. It exists for anyone and everyone who wants to participate. It's partly because of elitist little creeps like you that I've spent most of my adult life wanting to be a musician, but being too intimidated by all of the "real" musicians out there to actually try it.

I don't normally flame people, and I'll admit that I'm a little drunk right now, so I really don't want to turn this into some kind of big thing, particularly since this thread is supposed to be for reviews, but I will say this:

Eat a dick for breakfast. Eat a dick, shit it out, and then fuck yourself to death with a pitchfork.


Sincerely Forever,
S. Habukkuk Quoons, Annointed Duke of Prunes and Self-Proclaimed Emperor of the Funk.

PS - Please take my song out of tier two and put it into tier three. I feel violated.

I have spoken.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by EmbersOfAutumn »

MisterQuoons wrote: Embers of Autumn - I think I now get the sort of sound you're going for with the handful of selections I've heard of yours, but I think that the whole emotional pop-punk thing sort of reached it's apex of quality sometime between 1998 and 2001, and after that it just sort of kept getting more and more diluted and...I don't know...wussy, I guess.
Teplin wrote:But in general, I don't think people on here are trolling by producing intentionally terrible music. As has been pointed out, people have different tastes and skill levels.

Totally agree with Teplin about different tastes, cause it works with other genres too, as noted above and from reviews I've received in previous fights. I may not particularly like the avant-garde improv. or experimental or whatever it is that some of these odd tracks are going for, but there's a niche they're going for, and in my reviews, I may trash 'em, but that's just me. I know for a fact there will be other reviewers who prefer their styles who will give them a proper reviewing. (Same goes for rap--just not my style, so I usually don't rate them high). So my point? If you get a bad review or a string of them because you were trying something new--consider it a suffering for your art. If you honestly were being stupid, take the roasting because you deserve it. And if you're totally honest about trying to improve, take a few grains of salt and bite down and learn a thing or two. I know I have around here (and at least in production quality it's helped me quite a bit--thanks guys)...

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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Lord of Oats »

I have just one thing to add to this discussion right now:

If you're going to yell at people, expect to be yelled at.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by melvin »

Welcome to the age of mindless relativism, where shit and art have become one.
hi!
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Ross »

Isn't there a Monkey Business forum?
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slats
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by slats »

Chadderandom wrote:
BabylonHoruv wrote:I don't mind people hating my songs.
I didn't either but after a while, a constant stream of negative reviews is kind of depressing, which is partially why I submitted this weeks song in the form its in. Because I had a version that I felt proud of and I could just see every single negative review, so I submitted the version with less emotion invested in it. Which I still kind of feel emotionally invested in despite the lack of thought (but not effort) put in to it because its still my lyrics and I did everything in the song, so its still all me and those taking a dump sounding vocals were a creative choice and I had to get the guitar tone right, so there was some thought put into it. And I still don't think it sounds that bad, its somewhat aesthetically pleasing on some level to me.
Hmmm...

I'm sure you recognize that what you're creating isn't your standard radio fare. A lot of fringe artists who enjoy a cult of devoted fans also have to deal with a much larger group of people who'll tell you they suck. That's part of being on the edge.

I think you do yourself a disservice when you purposely post up a "lesser" version of one of your songs. If you believe in what you're creating, stand by it and put forth your best effort. I've found your stuff to be more assessible since you've been posting more. I think that helps. Just a little conversation about what you were going for, your process, etc. I get that no one really wants to explain their art, but I think a little of that from you (and anyone else putting up "outside the box" music) might help the listener along.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by roymond »

Slats - yes. I think we're all here to learn and none of us get to fully complete our projects in one week. It doesn't mean we need to explain or justify our song, but share our process and concepts. Maybe seeing only the review perspective limits us.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

melvin wrote:Welcome to the age of mindless relativism, where shit and art have become one.
I think that ought to be pretty much the final word on this discussion...
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

Lord of Oats wrote:I have just one thing to add to this discussion right now:

If you're going to yell at people, expect to be yelled at.
You're 100% correct, and I knew I'd get some heat for that review (perhaps not quite so... um, creative as what Mr. Quoons said).

Conversely, however... If you're going to fart into a microphone and post it on the Internet, expect to get bad reviews.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by rone rivendale »

And someone should have told your mother to close her legs, but you're here so I guess we have to deal with you.
From spoken word to actual singing, I can screw up any style with style. :D
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

Lunkhead wrote:
melvin wrote:Welcome to the age of mindless relativism, where shit and art have become one.
I think that ought to be pretty much the final word on this discussion...
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

I've changed my mind. I know I said I'd review the best songs last, because I don't have as much actual advice for them, but after all that negativity, I really want to listen to some great songs and give praise where praise is due. So here's my reviews of the songs I'm sure I'll be voting for. Great work, guys!

Berkshire Social Scene - Ken, your voice still sounds like John Linnell. For better or worse. It took me a frankly embarrassing amount of time to figure out why the verses sounded just a little bit unhinged, then when I realized they were in 5/4, the song just suddenly gelled for me. I like this a lot. Your verse melody is just as strong as the chorus melody, and that's something it's easy to overlook. I love the harmonies when you sing the title. One nitpick: some of the verse vocals need to be a little higher; they disappear into the mix. Vote.

Durand Durand - Holy moley, this is delicious. Groovy, funky, crunchy, and all that. The horns are awesome, but I also love the very subtle bongos just under them. Ross, your vocals are about as strong as on anything I've ever heard by you. Great chorus. Great guitar. Great song. So how come you two don't collaborate more? If it had been my song, I'd have faded out on that guitar solo near the end and cut the last chorus. But then again, if it were my song, the rest of it wouldn't have been this awesome. Vote.

Hell Yeahs - Okay, the Lost reference was cute, but... really? Oh well, great song. All sexy, 'n'stuff. It does sound more like the title should have been "Love Me a Little Bit." Period. I like the sneering vocal spin you put on the days of the week, and the short drum solo around the 1:10 mark is unexpected and nice; we don't have enough drum solos here at Songfight. Way to keep it short, leaving the listener begging for more. Terrific. Vote.

Hostess Mostess - Very nice. Sounds a bit like XTC. I like how you start with "I'd love you a little bit more." Your vocals are amazing; this is the kind of singing I aspire to be able to do eventually. The drums kick in at exactly the right moment; perfect pacing. The bridge takes the song in just the right new direction, both lyrically and melodically, and the return to the verse is pitch-perfect. I don't even really have any nitpicks. Just wonderful throughout. Probably my favorite this week; I'd vote for you twice if I could.

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set - You know it's a weird week when the guy-n-guitar songs are the best in the bunch. I'm trying to recall who your voice reminds me of. Jack Johnson comes to mind, but... oh well. Heartfelt, catchy. No frills, no ornaments. Just a good little song. I like the "not a whole lot more, just a little bit more." I kind of wish I'd thought of that angle. A pleasure to listen to. Vote.

Jonathan Mann - Waltz time! Your lyrics are so measured and perfect, but they sound so effortless! How long did they take? The rhymes are clever, and they don't get in the way of your point. In some songs, each verse is a little worse than the last because the songwriter is running out of things to say but still has space to fill. It's just the opposite in this song; the lyrics get better as it goes. My favorite line is "What I lack in grace, I can't replace; I'm a very loving klutz." I was a little unsure of the halting chorus at first, but it works. If I were a betting man, I'd have some money down on this song to win. Vote.

Max the Cat - It's tough to make wordy lyrics like this work. I doubt I'll ever be able to sing along to this. And yet, it's so endearing. Ever listen to Martin Sexton? There's shades of his work here. I love it right after the second chorus, when you sing "I know I'm probably scaring the crap out of you right now" etc. I like it when a writer of any genre is able to anticipate the listener reaction like that. Plus, the way you phrased it made me giggle. Oh, and I love those harmonics. How the heck do you get them so precise? Great job. Vote.

Raisin Brain - Oddly enough, I like the first two lines. I feel like I shouldn't, but I do. Hey... is this Mouth Reliant? If so, welcome back; I missed you. If not, you sound a lot like an old Songfighter named Mouth Reliant. I like the bloopy synths and the very simple sequenced bass. I would have liked to hear more variation in the vocals and the melody (in the first part, that is), and the vocals could stand to be a little bit louder throughout. The transition to the B-part is clean; the transition back, not so much. I love the switch. Kind of wish you'd just ended on the B-section, making it essentially two different songs. Oh well. Vote.

Rik Gerblick - This song sounds exactly like early Barenaked Ladies. Aided in no small part by your vocal similarity to Stephen Page. Like, wow. Great vocals. I'd actually like to refer other fighters to this song for an example of how to sing for recording. You're really belting, letting the song move you, and it shows. I like the almost-country groove thang you've got going on here. Pepper in some strategically-placed diminished 7s, and we've got a premium grade-A jam. I like it. Vote.

Roymond feat. Sangwich Man - Hey Chris. You know, I was in five collabs in one week once? One of them won, one took third, the other three got five votes among them, and I got Jack Shite really really angry at me. None of them were nearly as good as this song. Not going to comment on Roymond's core song (I'll save that for the review of his version without you), but I will say that I like this version quite a bit better than the solo one, and that you two seem to have an odd chemistry; I hope to see this collaboration again. Roy, your mix and master are a bit hot, but you know that already. Vote.

SomeGuyCalledNoel - Great fingerpicking! I remember voting for your first song last summer, because what it lacked in production values, it more than made up for in soul. Same thing here. The acoustic could be a little bit lower in the mix to give your vocals some space, but this song has such a sense of urgency, such a sense of needing to be sung, that I can't ignore it. Keep it up, Noel. Vote.

Todd McHatton - I love how this song builds up into that etherial chorus. Very Beach Boys. The intro sounds a bit sloppy, but it's easily forgiven in light of the arrangement that follows. Your harmonies are just right. There's some great subtle shifts in rhythm between parts that make this even more compelling. I don't really have much else to say; just good job. Vote.

The White Hat - Best use of banjo I've ever heard in a Songfight song. Great lyrics. I love the progression in the chorus. The harmonica, when it comes in, is unexpected, but very well played. It's easy to mix a harmonica too loud, but you don't. Great. Did you add the last line ("They don't stop me from loving you") after the rest? The background noise seems to disappear abruptly right before that line, like you'd originally intented to end it without resolving that tension, and then realized it wouldn't work, so you went back to record the last line. Just a nitpick. This is a great song, performed well. Vote.

The Worldly Self-Assurance - The driving beat, the layered synths in harmony; I've heard this trick before, but it's no less compelling. It grabs you, pulls you in. High energy. Could maybe stand to be a bit shorter, but... the ENERGY. Wow. The driving beat, the harmonies (on the vocals AND on the guitars)! It's hard to not like this song, the driving force behind it is so powerful. Vote.
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by deetak »

Babylon – I wish the woman’s voice was more sincere. Is this from a movie? Scary. 
Berkshire Social Scene – I like the rhythm of the vocal melodies. It kept me listening closely to it. 
Cabin Fever – I like the little guitar riffs that come in and out over the first verse melody. Also the texture at the last chorus. 
Chadderrandom Abyss – It’s OK. Guitar gets too repetitive. 
Chopped Liver Meat God – Intro is cool.
Cobalt – Don’t have anything to add. 
Cock – The handling of the lyric “love me a little bit more” is pretty cool in 0:54 – 1:05 
Country Martyrs – I don’t mind the sparse texture, but I don’t think the bass sound fits. Vocals could be much more confident in their delivery, even if going for an understated feel. 
Durand Durand – Vocals nicely clear. The chorus is a good turn from the verse. Bass, yeee. 
Dutova – The introduction of the synth was unexpected but actually fitted the instrumentation/song well. Wish the vocals were louder. 
Embers of Autumn – I like the other instruments melody lines supporting the vocals. 
The one with the file name “Looove” (I was streaming through them all so I have no idea whose this is) – 1:14 – 1:25 (thumbs up) 
Evile – I wish the vocals changed intensity or tone or something because the melody is fine but it kind of blends into each other. 
Heine – Solid. 
Hell Yeahs, The – I actually like the verse more than the chorus. I didn't notice the 2nd chorus continues from the previous chorus's days. Good idea. 
Hostess Mostess – Backup vocals are well used. I was expecting them to show up more, but I think it’s better the way you did it.  
Howl Down The Chimney – The vocals have great character. I agree with Jast though about re: tension.
Jimmy Jet and his TV Set – No problem with how it was written musically, but it wasn’t engaging.  
John Kloberdanz – Good song length with respect to the material. Vocals were next to Howl’s for me in terms of personality. 
Jonathan Mann – The part at 2:32 was a welcome addition but I think left too quickly. 
Jon Eric – Ah it's alright. Driving around song in a movie.
LSK – Ah ah ah. MyYyYyYy. 
Maggie Kanuka – If the vocals were louder and more finely phrased and emoted than it could hold up the piano. 
Manhattan Glutton – The bridge change is fine but maybe it could have become earlier, as that progression earlier is too repetitive.
Marlaalma – I wish the whole Rone Rivendale cover fight was separated from this week's theme.
Max the Cat – I don't listen to speaking/story-telling songs but this was fine. Nothing took away from the vocals.
The one with the timpanis and organ – I liked it better with the instrumentation at the beginning but the beginning of the guitar solo is cool.
Melvin – Found the verse much more interesting than the chorus.
Melvin is God – Sure feels good. Sure feels good. Sure feels good.
Ocho del Culo – I see great things happening. Great things happening in store.
Paco Del Stinko – Kind of makes me think of No Doubt's Trapped in a Box. Good mood.
Pathetic Wannabees – LOVE ME! LOVE ME!
Pet Squirrel – It's goes on too long, but I like the first 2 minutes and a bit.
PiGPEN – All my dreams died. When will it ever hit me. There is an emotional breakdown, it's just after the song.
Plain Songs for Doves & Tigers – It was fine. It reminds me a little of the music from the 1973 Wicker Man. I like when the sax (?) plays lightly.
Quimby – Solid song through and through. Nice vocal performance.
Raisin Bran – I think the drum part takes away from the mood.(0:44 to 1 minute or something)
Red Skeletons – Wish the organ was a little softer in the verse to the level it comes in the chorus.
Rik Gerblick – Impressive vocals.
Rmosquito – I like this one. Maybe change up the drums a little.
Roymond ft. Billy's Little Trip – I really like the end of the verses (0:55 – 1:05 for example). The texture seems the same throughout almost though, like that rhythm guitar on the right. The intro and the transition to the rest of the song was cool. Backup vocals are fine.
Signboy – The vocals need to be more aggressive at times for what it seems you are going for. It seems at the same energy throughout.
Sky Looks Pissed, The – Beginning with the harmonica was my favorite part.
Slats – Solid song.
Some Guy Called Noel – Nice guitar work.
Squid Bird? - Squid Bird?
Steve Durand – I want to live in this song's neighborhood.
Swilington – Could have a bridge. Stretched the material too much Nailed the mood you were going for, I think.
Todd McHatton – Skillful all around.
The Weakest Suit – Song was fine.
Wet Towel Society – Vocal delivery needs to be switched up a little.
White Hat – I'd sit down and listen to someone singing this.
Worldy Self Assurance – I like that breakdown around 2:10. And then the backup vocals right after that.

My votes go to: Cabin Fever, Quimby, Red Skeletons, and Todd McHatton.
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reve
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by reve »

Billy's Little Trip wrote:
(image of poo removed to keep the thread short)
You know, BLT is just letting the art-poo speak for itself here. But this piece ("Complex Shit" by Paul McCarthy) is particularly appropriate in this context, as it caught by the wind while on exhibit, destroying landscaping, downing trees and electrical poles, grinding over cars & blowing out their windows, eventually crushing a Childrens' Home.

That story always makes me smile.
-- reve mosquito.
nicegeoff
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Re: Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

Post by nicegeoff »

Babylon Horuv Feat. Pandamonieum and Atryom - I always thought Psychedelic Horseshit should have sounded more like this.

Berkshire Social Scene
- Really dig the dueling vocal lines. Overall this song is a bit to high-schooly for me.

Cabin Fever - A demonstration for the Zoom 505 pedal? The verses are a bit too funky, but the chorus has some nice moments. Overall I think it's the production that's hurting this one. Something so samey and familiar about it all. Nothing attention-grabbing except the composition, which feels buried under the normality.

The Chadderandom Aybyss - Not "out" enough for outsider music.

Chopped Liver Meat God - Over the top vocal performance that verges on parody. If only they showed a little restraint I would vote for this.

Cobalt Stomach
- There are some nice rhythmic things happening in this song. I cannot take anything with those vocals seriously, though.

Cock - I love that the intro to the song is longer than the song. And on top of that hilarity, the "song" part is funny.

Country Martyrs - My favorite part of this song is the sound of the guitar.

Deetak - I am thrilled that you are channeling the spirit of Tiny Tim, but unfortunately, it appears to be in the form of a singer-songwriter. The minimalist arrangement is nice, but I think you need something else to keep it from meandering.

Durand Durand - I can't really deal with funk like this. The horn arrangements hold alot of interest, though.

DuTova
- This is like some crazy mid-90's grunge trifecta of Blind Melon and Stone Temple Pilots. Anyone else hearing this?

Embers of Autumn - The air organ (or is it melodica?) is extremely nice and needed. Other than that this is boring. The sincerity in your voice is not helping things, and the "but just kidding" tone in the spoken part does not justify it.

Eric Strong's Song Dot Com - Yay, more nintendo. I really enjoy the stuttering rhythm. With that rhythm and all the autotune, this is something you hear on modern hip hop / r&b radio nowadays. It needs alot more work to get to that point, but the basic idea is there. Sell it to T-Pain and make a hit!

Evil-E
- The disconnect between the vocals and the music is interesting. This song is suffering from the "melody is just the same thing the guitar is playing" syndrome. Not enough variation. I think this song would benefit from being TWICE as fast. The 2:38 breakdown is
really nice, though.

Heine - The entire song's structure is too homogeneous. Lacking in melody, harmony, and rhythm.

The Hell Yeahs - This is nice. My one (minor) complaint is that the day-of-the-week singing sections are bit too whiney (I'm sure this was your intention). It just feels like it was attempting to recreate the call-and-response girls of "Summer Nights". But something about the delivery feels condescending.

Hostess Mostess - So smoooooooth! This is like Peter Cetera with less production value! Nice enough, though.

Howl Down the Chimney - Spoooooky! I am in love with from 1:53 - 2:26. I'm a sucker for halloween-core, but I think the verses
are a littl bit heavy-handed sometimes. Really nice, though.

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set - I don't like this kind of singing. I'm also not a fan of narrative songs featuring a "Johnny"

Jon Eric - Shame on you.

John Kloberdanz - I like how the fade happens unexpectedly while you're still singing. Its as if the person you're singing to has finally had enough and tunes you out.

Jonathan Mann - I know this song reminds me of something, but the closest I can recall is this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ8k6fVe25k with less psychedelia and more spaghetti-western. I love the dichotomy of such macho cowboy music paired with such a needy, underconfident sentiment. I LOVE the line about apologizing too much after spilling a drink...So good. Voterama.

LSK - I really love the horn / duck noises. 1 chord songs are EXTREMELY hard too pull off and I do not think this was successful. Think you could take a 1 second snippet of this and I would be convinced it was an early, early Jeff Mangum demo.

Maggie Kanuka - I love the background noise in this. Overall, I don't think the song is strong enough to remain unaccompanied. I would love to hear something else kick in. It's nice enough, though. Good voice.

Manhattan Glutton - Love the major seventh into dominant seventh playing. I love the lazy feel of the whole thing. And I would have voted for it if not for the guest appearence of Seven Mary Three in the bridge! Gross!

Mar la Alma - I love how abstract this is. It feels almost religious. However, it lacks melody.

Max the Cat - This Paul Simonesque speak-singing and fretless bass are major pet peeves of mine, but you have such a way with words and their delivery that makes me like this. Well done!

McRamahamasham - The music is nice and spooky! I dig the backing vocals, but the lead bad...Ooh...especially when 1:13 kicks in. I dig The stop-and-start guitar solo! Very psychedelic...Possibly the best guitar solo of this fight...But that doesn't mean anything to me.

Melvin - This is well done, but very cheeseball (arrangement, production). Maybe it would benefit from less emoting. This almost on the verge of chasing cars...be careful.

Melvin is God - I like the the introduction, which is like a science fiction soundtrack doing the cha cha. The rest of the song doesn't live up to that potential though, proabably due to how tuneless the whole thing feels...It gets better when the outro comes in with all of those fast little notes.

Ocho del Culo - Boring music concrete. You have some of the most interesting sounds of this fight, but it's like they're just all laid out on the table. You need to construct something with them.

Paco del Stinko - The chorus of this is nice, especially the backing vocals. It takes so long to get there, though! The quality of the verses right now makes it quite the struggle. The instrumental sections behind both choruses are good.

The Pathetic Wannabees - This sounds like a mix of Bobby "Boris" Picket and the Residents vocalist singing with a backup band made up of 13 year olds who just got musical instruments for christmas.

Pet Squirrel - Very nice synth pop. There's something a little too cookie cutter about the sounds you're using. The tune is really nice though. It's also awfully long.

PigPEN - Alight! Nasal nintendo pop punk!! This is fun stuff, but the "Dun dun dun da dun da dun" part can get too repetitive for me.

Plain Songs for Doves & Tigers - This is nice. I love the rag-tag instrumentation. The horn sounds amazing. This reminds me of a more folky Canterbury Scene type stuff...Maybe some Mayo Thompson?

Quimby - Really nice voice balances out the annoying and unwavering distorted guitar I don't know if its the tone or the instrument, but it's really distracting.

Raisin Brain
- This song good in theory. It should be half as long and have a better vocalist. I really don't understand the "Love Cats" reference in the bridge. Seems needless...unless I'm missing something?

Rik Gerblick
- Gross me out the door.

Roymond Feat. Billy's Trip - I love the cockiness of these vocals. I think my only complaint about this is that it's a bit too slow-moving
for me.

R. Mosquito - I love how distorted this whole thing is! I'm a sucker for the interval you end the verses with. So classic. Great length, too. Vote-bot 2000.

Signboy - I don't remember Songfight ever having this much funk-rock. This is ridiculous.

The Sky Looks Pissed - I thought I was going to be in love with this based on the first 18 seconds because it reminded me of the best parts of Tilly & the Wall....but then the vocals came in and it reminded me of the worst parts of adolescence.

Slats - I thought this was going to be awesome based on the intro. This sort of reminds me of Pod / Pure Guava era Ween minus the hooks and vocal acrobatics.

Some Guy Called Noel - The slide guitar part is a little bit enjoyable, but there is not enough excitement in this song. It just sort of chugs through for a long...long time.

Squid Bird - Worst remix of "Walk it Out" I've heard.

Steve Durand - There's a really good song here. Really excellent early beatles "perfect pop song" vibe. I hate to be all american-idol judge about this, but the vocals are hindering its perfect pop song status. I'll vote for it though because it's some of the strongest songwriting in this fight. Actually, the more I listen to the vocals the more charm they bring. It brings to mind open mic night at the elderly folks home.

Swilington - Oh man, that keyboard sound may be boner-enducing, but you know what's not? The Vocoder. It takes away any strong sense of melody this song has going for it. It forces the listener to fill in the blanks. This song is one of the better in this fight, but not sure if it's vote-worthy.

Todd McHatton - Probably my favorite song in the fight. So many different sections, great arrangements and great vocals. Well done! I don't have an excuse not to vote for this

A Tribe Called Quoons - It is really hard to successfully pull off 1) the "speak-singing" vocal technique 2) artificial octave effects on vocals 3) painfully unvaried song structure. Way to put in an effort.

The Weakest Suit - This is okay. Nothing pierces me, though. Feels king of high schooly. Not sure what to suggest...a metronome?

Wet Towel Society - Are you and Chopped Liver Meat God using the same "fake vibrato" vocal effects? I really dig the song and the production, but those vocals...The song's not strong enough for me to overlook them.

The White Hat
- When alot of people play banjo, they usually tend to stick to a blueprint of what a banjo part should sound like, both rhythymically and harmonically. Upon hearing the verse, that is my first impression...However, when the chorus and bridges kick in and execute a fine understanding of harmony. The whole song's sentiment is very sweet and the traditional pop song structure works with it perfectly...This song has two outstanding flaws, though. I really cannot stand that down-by-the river "simple folk" vocal affectation. Harmonica solos, too. Ick. I'll vote for the song, but not the recording.

The Wordly Self-Assurance
- This song is nice and catchy. I think I would prefer it if there were different instruments playing everything. Drum machine? Keyboards? With the exception of the 2:02 - 2:20 part. That part is amazing and perfect. The power of the song overpowers the instrumentation of it. Votino!

Votes have been awarded to:

Jonathan Mann
R. Mosquito
Steve Durand
Todd Mchatton
The Worldly Self-Assurance
The White Hat
make love, not music
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