Abominominous - On first listen, things sounded kind of muddy but apparently my ears just needed to adjust to it, because all the noise is really great. Its also kind of generic but I listened to Coal Chamber the other day, so I might be burnt out on the production style. The vocals feel like they need to be surrounded by a cleaner metal and less alt-metal or whatever.
Adam Adamant - Ominous. Awyeah, that is pretty rad. And the vocals start and this feels kind of nice and its all very nice. Entirely too nice. But the beginning got me jazzed for it, thats something, I guess.
Andrew Reist - What IS that? It almost sounds like it should be annoying but its not. Is that some sort of synth? A guitar? This is a pretty fun little song that I'm missing out on trying to figure out what that is. It sounds different than all the other songs that sound like this. Its probably that thing that I can't identify. So, yeah, cool song, cool thing I can't identify. I almost feel guilty for not really being that into it.
Berkeley Social Scene - I really dug the instrumentals of this song and wasn't so sure about the vocals, at one point it sounds like theres a mistake somewhere, but beside that, the vocals just weren't working for me on first listen but on second listen, the vocals sound tremendous... even if there is some sort of mistake... creative, intentional or accidental, I'm not sure but it sounds like something wrong happens. But on second listen, the instruments don't sound nearly as great as they did the first time and, so I listen a third time, to see if it all balances out, it kind of does but in the wrong direction because I'm just not that excited about anything.
Big Crouton - Ominous. Awyeah, that is pretty rad. For a second, I wasn't sure if the vocals were in the right place but I can hear them fine. This feels kind of great and its all very great. Entirely too great? Possibly. Lets see if it holds up on second listen and... holy crap, that was badass.
The Chadderandom Abyss - That overlapping ought to beeeee in the chorus is bugging me a little, like I should've shortened it to ought be, or maybe I could've broken it up more, like... come down... where you... ought to.... beeeee, and so it'd have its own section and then I could've held onto beee for as long as I wanted to and it wouldn't've overlapped.
Chopped Liver Meat God - I like the high pitch back up vocal. And the music too. The pre-chorus sounds fun. Post-chorus not as much although on repeated listen, it sounded better than I thought. The chorus (is a chorus still a chorus if it doesn't repeat or should I be calling it something else? But whatever it is, it) works... but how come the second verse (unless the chorus becomes the second verse due to not repeating and the second verse is actually the third verse or maybe the song is a poem and its three stanzas long but whatever it is, why), doesn't (it (the second verse (third stanza))) also feature the high pitched back up vocals? I guess they don't need them... but I liked them and want them to come back, so, yeah, thats my only problem.
Chthonic Chthock - This whole dance-punk thing was done well. Pretty well, even. Those vocals are almost amazing. I'm starting to get into this more with every listen. I think I should stop listening to this before I get sucked through a vortex back into 2004 and can't stop listening to every band that sounded like this because I was obsessed.
Clifton Lee Johnston - I don't remember the video sounding this amazing. Usually videos make songs more tolerable (though I guess thats for songs that need to be tolerated and an accompanying video would make it better, so not really the case here) but this song actually sounds better all by itself. And even knowing the concept behind this song, having read the FAWM thread, this song doesn't really sound like every other song ever. Or maybe it does but it really doesn't.
deetak - So Animal Collective, Rufus Wainwright, Tiny Tim and CW McCall are locked in a computer together and forced to participate in a VST & LSD mash-up party but where's the host? No one knows. Where's the CB section? Its a mystery, really, and one by one everyone dies from an overdose. Only Mr Feeny with the picnic table umbrella in the mall security office knows the truth. Dun, dun, dun.
Doctor Worm - Well, look at that, that sure is... happening for a long time. WTF? I... uh... maybe if I listen to that a second time, it'll make sense. Are these vocals in the beginning of the long part? I assumed that I missed a whole block of things but most of it doesn't seem to have any vocals, so that part is just, like, there. For a while. I am confused by this whole song and its not aesthetically pleasing enough to really try to get.
Embers of Autumn - Whoa. That was unexpected. Holy fuck, those vocals. I... uh... want to go home? I want my mommy? Wow, I'm sorry, I had to shut that off. Maybe if I try to listen to it at 50%. I didn't make it much farther. Actually, I think I shut it off sooner. I like your cliched emo stuff better even though its kind of played out. And I usually make it all the way through those songs. Okay, one more time... and I made it all the way through and that was certainly made with Fruity Loops and those vocals sure were some kind of vocals.
Ford's Theater Disaster - I have listened to this song twice, paying full attention both times and I have no idea how I feel about it. It starts out awesome is all I really know. But then what happens... it might also be equally awesome... but I don't know. I think maybe its the production thats off-putting because I can't really get into it as much as it feels like I should be able to.
Grass Stained - Did you boost the bass in this song? There definitely shouldn't be that much bass and its really distracting. Whats underneath sounds like it might be alright if not a little generic and I'd rather hear the alright generic thing that might be cool if I were actually able to listen to it instead of all this bbbbb stuff in my headphones.
Humboat - So, like, is that the kazoo after the looked into being a jedi part? The whole kazoo thats not a kazoo thing caused me to be on the look out which I think caused me to not really be able to pay attention to anything because I was too busy suspecting everything of being a kazoo (even the percussion (because it could be a kazoo being dropped)). Anyway, I really like this song, its really fun and clever and held my attention once I paid attention to the actual song.
Jan Krueger - This song is really... I don't know what to say. Its becoming less horrifying with each listen though. The ending is kind of cool. I want to like it? I guess I like the lyrics. It kind of bums me out that I can't really get into this. I don't know why I feel so horrified by this song. Is horrify the right word? It makes me cringe. But I wouldn't say it was cringe-worthy, because that specific phrasing, while accurate, makes it sound like its a bad song and its not a bad song, its just not anything I can get in to. Both this song and this review share something in common: too melodramatic.
Jonathan Mann - I love the vocals. I love the lyrics. I'm starting to love the instrumentation. Let's see how much I love this on second listen: a lot, apparently, since I'm on my 4th listen and instead of writing a bunch of meaningless words I'm just sitting here listening to it.
Larry - Does any of this work together? The longer it goes, the more it feels like it does. I wasn't really digging the vocals but they're starting to grow on me. Or they're just getting better. Yeah, I'm really feeling this and I just checked, its only the half way point. Lets see how much awesome I missed out on with a second listen. It worked from the beginning. I closed my eyes and got lost in the beat, it felt kind of spiritual.
Lawless Drive - I liked the guitar, it reminded me of something. I want to say Polvo, but thats probably only because I listened to them last night. I can't listen to this more than twice to try to figure it out though for obvious reasons.
Max The Cat - I think I'm halucinating. That noise is kind of freaking me out and I like it. I was going to say how your vocals sounded like they had a weird effect added to them too and I thought it was going to be a detriment but now I'm not sure because theres this whole thing going on here that, like, I don't know, man. But a few days later, this song is pretty cool on all levels and there's no uncertainty in how awesome it is.
Mortimer The Tortoise - I really like the vocals, like a lot, but they sure took a while to come in and that music is not something I want to be alone with.
Naked Philosophy - Your vocals are kind of buried and I'm almost left alone with the music but I really like the music, so I'm cool with you trying to leave me alone with it but it'd be nice if the vocals were clearer and closer... or not. I don't know, maybe this works. Yeah, turns out, I really like everything thats going on here. On second listen, I really like the vocal effects when it starts rocking but in the intro or whatever they seem kind of unnecessary but oh well, choices.
Nigel Clements - That was smooth, nothing wrong with it, kind of reminded me of Gomez with less awesome vocals but still very Gomezy in the vocals department too. Kind of awesome if I want really cool background music, I guess. Actually it sounds like a song that would be playing in the background if I were in an indie movie and I was making out with someone while on x and nudity ensued while someone was watching from the closet and it turned out at the end of the song I was the one in the closet just watching a girl undress. And I was a bunny rabbit.
Paco del Stinko - I wasn't really feeling this at the beginning but as the song goes on, its really bringing me in, and I'm getting into it more and more. Not really enough to listen to it a second time but maybe... whoa, was I really not going to listen to that a second time? So, I'm on the third listen and I thought this song was kind of long but this song is absolutely amazing. I don't know what number of listens I'm currently on but I guess I should listen to something else now because I've been playing this for a while.
Quimby - Holy crap, hahaha... I was listening intently and when the guitar came in it scared the crap out of me. This song is pretty amazing in much the same way that Bette Midler's 'From a Distance" was when I first heard it, in that despite not really feeling anything positive about the subject matter and it should alienate me but the performance is just so great that you have to like the song.
Quimby featuring Billy's Little Trip - I like the beginning and the guitar part towards the end. But I can't really make out much of the vocals because theres too much stuff to distract me with and I'm just not that into hearing awesome vocals on one song and then having them surrounded by unnecessary stuff.
Rone Rivendale - If this were more groovy and trancey and less noisy, it might be kind of awesome but theres just a little too much abrasiveness although as is, its pretty good.
Ross Durand - Speaking of "From A Distance" this totally sounds like a response to that song. Like, really intentionally, because on second listen I caught the first couple lines that I missed the first time around, I thought it was just be a coincidence and now I realize it wasn't. But I really like this regardless of how intentional it was.
Signboy - Heh, this is pretty cool. I wasn't sure about the vocals at first but they really grew on me.
The Sky Looks Pissed - I really, really like the guitar and harmonica and I think maybe the vocals work but I... whoa, everything that comes in is what this song needed maybe. Too bad it all came in at the end. Before it came in though, I kept picturing the vocals over something else other than the guitar, I just couldn't figure out what. Violin and glitch beats, maybe? It might cover up the plosive noises... especially if the glitch beats were made from plosives. But whats there at the end, the banjo and the... kalimba? I really like those. A banjo/kalimba song would've been awesome ending with some crazy guitar strumming and harmonica blowing, so everything reversed. In theory.
Steve Durand - This song just feels fake. But, then again, if I wanted to hear a song about going down to Brazil, it'd be from the 21st century and it'd include references to thongs and martial arts and I'd be able to pogo to it and yell "Yeah!" a lot.
Todd McHatton - There is absolutely nothing wrong with this song other than the fact that I need more rocking out in my life due to living in a cold, dark cloudy place although upon second listen, I'm really getting into this. Third listen and I'm noticing everything and that everything is working on a level that I really like.
Tungsten Chic - I'm not really down with the computer as vocalist in general unless there is something really exceptional and the line "have yourself a glass o' wine" did give me a legit lol but I'd rather hear the most horrible vocals in the world as long as they're coming from an actual person. I have a keepin it really real and genuine fetish.
The Weakest Suit - So, on the third listen, I can't really tell whats wrong with this song. I mean, there's nothing really wrong with it, it feels like it works because I keep getting glimpses of something more, like there's this really awesome song but I think it might be the production thats making this not completely work for me.
Who Fly - I really like this. Like, every part of this. Every part. I totally want to start listing parts that I find particularly awesome but, like, every part.
jast wrote:(please learn to sing)
I've been making music off and on for 17 years and I think at one point I sung pretty well but I've done a lot to damage the things that are required to sing well, don't really practice or test it out though, probably forgotten a lot of important things in that department as well but I don't really write songs that require much singing anyway. This song in particular would definitely be more subtle with singing, might be more open to interpretation but its a song about some crazy dude who's looking for a reason to commit suicide, so I like the overtness of the vocals myself and it was intentional because I wasn't really interested in recording (like the guy isn't that interested in living) and thought that would actually help the mood more.
Billy's Little Trip wrote:I can't help but think how awesome it would be if you did your vox through a megaphone.
This song wouldn't exist if the narrator had a megaphone. How can you consider dying for a talking fish when you have a megaphone? If the crazy man wandering the streets had a megaphone, he'd be telling the talking fish to come down where she ought to be with him. Down in the street, because down is up and up is down in his world and he would be able to tell the world that with his megaphone. He'd be able to tell the world a lot with his megaphone like how awesome his megaphone was.
Ross wrote:I am apparently unqualified to review this. best part is at 1:20 or so. in the end basically boring. But consider my qualifications.
Your qualifications is probably why you're unqualified because, as a guitarist, you're conditioned to recoil in horror at that noise or at least be less than appreciative towards it. As for it being boring, thats definitely a valid feeling to have because the song never becomes that exciting, per se, so yeah, if you're not that enthralled with the story, its probably yawn city.
