Thinkin' about Some Reviews

[Spud]

Everybody talks about the old days, but nobody ever does anything about them.

[Lunkhead]

Whoa, freaky cover art. Dolls. Creepy. ~~~shudder~~~

[JonPorobil]

Whoa, freaky cover art. Dolls. Creepy. ~~~shudder~~~

I'm still only seeing "The Proposal"...

[Billy's Little Trip]

Whoa, freaky cover art. Dolls. Creepy. ~~~shudder~~~

I'm still only seeing "The Proposal"...

Click art archive.

[Lunkhead]

Ha ha ha. That Humboat is awesome. I won't ruin the chorus/punchline, it's a good one.

[Billy's Little Trip]

HaHaHa!! Humboat, that was great!

[nyjm]

I have a bit of free time now and God knows when the next opportunity will appear, so reviews right away:

Berkeley Social Scene - vote for a great song
+++ arpeggio solo! +++
+++ rockin' chorus and outro +++

Naked Philosophy
--- vox tone is too raw ---
+++ chorus +++

Manhattan Glutton
+++ rawk! love the starts and stops +++
/// lyrics almost sound like a Hell Yeahs song ///
--- drawn-out vox are warbly ---
/// last verse is something of a non-sequitir and/or too inside-joke for a general audience ///

Larry
--- meh. folky and not much else ---

hendermann
--- that "toc" from the drums seems out of time, or just accenting a weird beat; it's too prominent besides ---
+++ vox and melody +++
--- actually, the entire performance is too lose: parts just slightly out of rhythm with others, especially those overlapping vox towards 3:00 ---
/// which is too bad since it detracts from what is a very pretty song at its heart ---

The New Southern Democrats - vote for a solid vibe and good dynamics
+++ deep-fried southern country vibe; reminds me a little of Blind Melon +++
+++ vox and melody +++
+++ ... and it hits the accelerator just at the right moment! +++

John Kloberdanz
+++ harmonica +++
--- more folk. ho hum. ---

Death Be Not Proud
--- verse melody lacks prosody ---
--- drums are buried too far in the mix ---
-- backing female vox are too harsh, out of time ---
+++ creative take on the title +++

Steve Durand - vote for wit
+++ HAHAHAHAHA! amusing lyrics with a great ironic twist +++
+++ this title plays perfectly to your style +++
/// all it needs is a sound bite from something like "Leave it Beaver" or "Father Knows Best" ///

Lucky Spoon
/// push those overdriven guitars more; it's a great riff that needs to be featured more prominently to drive the song and stand as a counterpoint to the more laid-back feeling of the verse ///
+++ melody and chorus prosody +++

Larry Knox
--- singing in the bathroom ---
--- lacks dynamics, passion and/or witty lyrics ---

The Chadderandom Abyss
/// this is so avant-garde and deliberately inaccessible - as is all of your stuff - that i really don't know how to review it constructively ///

Johnny Cashpoint
/// ukulele? that's new... ///
+++ j$ delivers on the great lyrics and melody, as usual: fave lyric: "You need deep cleaning, a full spring cleaning of your soul - So full of old crap, you’re like a car boot sale for ghosts" +++
--- it's probably the result of recording the vox and uke simultaneously, but the uke is a little too hot; maybe just some EQ to tone it down ---

Hot Wire
+++ doubled vox +++
--- boring synth beat-box ---

Todd McHatton
+++ the percussion is pretty cool +++
--- lacks a hook and the chorus seems thin ---
/// the guit tone for the verse is cool, but the rhythm is actually kind of irregular and distracting ///

Ross Durand
+++ country blues vibe +++
/// i don't know if i like the slide guitar tone; perhaps it needs to be sharper or just more reverb, or something. fiddle with it. ///
--- too much jangle in the bridge ---

Paco del Stinko - vote for a great song
+++ opening hook and rhythm +++
+++ chorus +++
+++ evocative lyrics without being overly sentimental or nostalgic +++
+++ false ending +++

deetak
--- vox ---
--- trite lyrics and worse delivery ---
/// not an anti-song, just a bad one ---

Chopped Liver Meat God
/// oooh, lyric burgled! ///
--- not as good as the original: you are neither Cake nor They Might Be Giants ---

Fartin' In The Club
--- fail (n.): sound collage slapped together in 10 minutes or less exhibiting no creative talent or ambition ---

reconsiderate and mr scott
/// bias alert: nerdcore needs to be really exceptional to impress me ///
+++ you have an admirable sense of rhythm +++

Miss Fancy Pants
+++ really cool arrangement and instrumentation +++
/// i think this begins too complexly with the layered vox and unusual instrumentation; start more simply to let the listener find a single thread to hang on to then take off ///
--- ending is more simple than sorrowful ---

The Hell Yeahs - vote for a good story
+++ lyrics (even without the annontation) +++
/// unusually laid-back for a Hell Yeahs tune ///
+++ chorus +++

The Weakest Suit
--- lacks a hook ---
+++ chorus +++
/// the backbeat of the guitars is kind of monotonous and the pre-chorus doesn't really do anything by way of counterpoint ///

Humboat
///... after a quick Google search... disturbing subject matter... ///
+++ which makes this a great concept with a wonderfully realized ironic execution +++
+++ the ending is hilarious +++

noah mclaughlin - vote, because i always vote for myself except when i forget
+++ U2 vibe, soaring chorus +++
--- uncertain in places, phrasing not quite in rhythm ---
/// i'm still not entirely sure about the overdriven guitars on the chorus - i think there needs to be a rising motion at the end to lead to the next chord; also, vox might be a little hot, especially the higher part of each verse ///

Surf Train Surf Industry
/// decent electronica ///
--- but nothing extraordinary about it ---

Tungsten Chic
+++ good electronica with an interesting arranagement +++
--- fails to pass the "song" requirement ---

Ramen-Flavored ROMs
--- singing in the bathroom; and way too hot besides ---
--- some prosody in the lyrics, but an utterly insular topic without an original take ---

DuToVa
--- the drums seem to be slightly out of time, that or you're just emphasizing a weird beat ---
+++ love the throbbing vibe of the verse +++
/// layer on some dirty guitars to make it more interesting ///
/// the chorus kind of grows on me ///
+++ the last verse is great; make that first, or just use that great vibe to hook us earlier +++

[Lucky Spoon]

is "prosody" the word of the day?

Some really good entries this week... i'm digging those that went with an old school flavor to go with the theme... might have to categorize the songs into the different styles and then vote for the best in each category.

[JonPorobil]

is "prosody" the word of the day?

This is a songwriting site. It should be the word of the day most days. 8)

[Larry Knox]

Hey Gang,

Has anybody else notice a degradation of sound quality between what you sent and what is posted?

I listened off the web site and was shocked at how bad it sounded. So I downloaded the song from the web site and loaded into iTunes next to the one I sent.

What a huge difference. I checked both files and they were both 192kbs file but notice a couple of differences.

File from SongFight was slightly larger (5.6 meg compared with 5.5 for my file)

In the get info dialog in iTunes my file says that the volume is -1.8db compared -1.1 on my file.

And the modification date is two days later for the SF file (this may be due to the file transfer dates?)

And last but not least all my mp3 id tags are gone from the song file.

Is SongFight messing with our files?

Larry

[Fightmaster Sr.]

No, you are mistaken. We do nothing with the files. We don't even listen to them.

[Teplin]

Thanks for the love, guys.

I couldn't have done it without Irwin and Reve.

Edit: PS - I almost forgot, it was Jon Eric who kept suggesting I squeeze lemon party in there. He was quite insistant and to be honest it freaked me out a bit.

[BriGuy92]

Ramen-Flavored ROMs
--- some prosody in the lyrics, but an utterly insular topic without an original take ---

Pardon me for not knowing, but what exactly does that mean?

[bambamoozle]

Hey Gang,

Has anybody else notice a degradation of sound quality between what you sent and what is posted?

I listened off the web site and was shocked at how bad it sounded. So I downloaded the song from the web site and loaded into iTunes next to the one I sent.

What a huge difference. I checked both files and they were both 192kbs file but notice a couple of differences.

File from SongFight was slightly larger (5.6 meg compared with 5.5 for my file)

In the get info dialog in iTunes my file says that the volume is -1.8db compared -1.1 on my file.

And the modification date is two days later for the SF file (this may be due to the file transfer dates?)

And last but not least all my mp3 id tags are gone from the song file.

Is SongFight messing with our files?

Larry

Larry - I'm only speaking for me, but after I read your post I listened to my song both as an unsent mp3, and the mp3 that opened up when I clicked on my name on the homepage. They sounded identical.

John K.

[Ross]

Hey Larry. Mine sounds the same, too.

Try e-mailing a copy to yourself - maybe your provider is doing some sort of file compression and unpacking on the other end or something.

[Spud]

Larry, you sent a file called "Output 1-2.mp3". Is that the file you thought you sent?

(btw, you SHOULD be punished for sending a file by that name...)

[Sober]

Only listened to a few seconds of each song, but Berkeley Social Scene, Manhattan Glutton, and Todd Mchatton strike me as the most professional sounding. I may change my mind on this later.

There are many songs here that sound ok, but are a mess mix-wise.

There are, as always, a good amount of shit songs. I will likely skip over these entirely if I think you're sucking on purpose.

I'll give serious listens and do full reviews later.

[Spud]

Just remember, Sober, you're listening for the quality of the songwriting.

[BriGuy92]

So... am I not going to have my question answered or what? I'd seriously like to know if it'll help me write better songs.

[Larry Knox]

Wow, I don't know what happened between when I finished the final mixdown and the process of getting to an MP3 but my song was butchered. I finished it late Friday night to get it in on time so, as I recall, I converted the file, made sure the first few notes played and submitted it.

I have resubmitted the repaired version and hopefully it can be exchanged or the old one removed.

If anybody is interested (yeah.... right) I have posted it on my web site:

http://marketmakersurveys.com/Site/Thinkinv2.mp3

If the good one comes online here I will post a message.

Thanks for your understanding

Larry Knox

[Larry Knox]

I really should read the posts before posting huh?

Anyway, now I know what went wrong. Finger Fart. I sent the wrong file.... doh!

I am very sorry to insinuate that it was anyone else's fault. I just couldn't figure out what happened on my end and now....... I know.

I would never purposely send a file with such a name. This was a rough mixdown I sent to a buddy and I must have grabbed it and drug it to the email message. That's what procrastination can do for you.

If the powers that be read this, it would be extremely nice if you might except my re-submittal (sent via the mail submittal email address and subject line referenced) and make the change.

Once again, thanks

Larry

[Lunkhead]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prosody