Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

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Heather. Redmon.
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by Heather. Redmon. »

No, Glennny, I'm not feeling picked on anymore. Thanks for clarifying. I feel kinda bad for choosing the rolly eyes, should have just gone with smiley. It was "predictable" that I was reacting to, but I'll accept "comfortable" or "reliable" I suppose :)
jack wrote:heather is the hardest working mom on songfight (in addition to being arguably the rockinist chick....).
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by Heather. Redmon. »

Why do threads die when I post in them? Carry on everyone, I'm sure the people in this fight want reviews...
jack wrote:heather is the hardest working mom on songfight (in addition to being arguably the rockinist chick....).
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by ujnhunter »

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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by inevitableguy »

I've been slowly working my way through reviews...and here they are! Listened in random order, alphabetized for your convenience:

Balance Lost - I like the interaction between the vocalists. There's a great hook in there. I like this one a lot.

Banging Betty - If you are going to rip off a riff that famous, you'd better do something utterly outstanding with it. This is just OK.

Beefwestern - The bassline needs some variation. The off-key vocals aren't helping.

Boxer B - The vocals in the chorus feel a bit rushed. The outro is a bit longish for what it is.

Chopped Liver Meat God - What's with the 25 or 6 to 4 in there? What is this song about, anyway? What the hell? Where'd this Nirvana come from? Will I ever stop asking questions about this song? Will it ever stop?

Crack My Jaw - There's something in the EQ on that vocal that just brings out the wrong sounds. Not sure how to fix it, but it needs to be done.

Doscientos - This has got a lot of energy, but I think it needs even more.

Ford's Theater Disaster - Wow, that bass is loud. I wish the vocals were a bit cleaner.

Future Boy - The lyrics are a little too obvious. The music is very nice, though. Enough to make me forget about the words. There's a little Of Montreal vibe happening in there.

Gooey Caramel Centaur - This isn't bad, but it isn't great, either. I'm not finding anything to say about it either way.

Looking for Alaska - The combination lead/rhythm guitar in the intro seems a bit choppy. Same in the solo. Could stand to be a little shorter, too.

Lord of Oats - I like all of the little synth-y sounds. The lyrics are a bit weak, though. Is that Carlin? I like the speech, but it feels too long to be a song.

Marrs and Denny - I suppose you were trying to autotune the words? It turned out really choppy.

Mister Shot - I know rap isn't always supposed to be about exciting music, but could we have at least a little variation in there?

Naked Philosophy - I was messing around with my guitar, and I sort of stumbled upon the lead riff and liked it. So I wrote a song around it. I ended up liking the ending the best. I would have repeated "The government is coming to get me" about 8 more times if I could have gotten away with it, since that part of the song was so much fun to record.

Paco del Stinko - There's nothing unexpected happening here.

Pathetic Wannabees - Yep. That's a Pathetic Wannabees song.

Rone Rivendale - Hey, you wrote a coherent sounding arrangement - congratulations! You still need to work on singing in key, though.

Ross Durand - I like the lyrics. I find myself wishing the music was more adventurous.

The Semolina Pilchards - At first, the odd time signature in the verse bothered me, but it grew on me by the end of the song. I think you could remove most of the instrumental break, and I'd like this a little bit more. As it is, it's still a pretty good song.

Smile Case - It's kind of noisy and disjointed - and not in a good way.

Swilington - The lyrics are a shade too obvious. I like the vocal treatment.

Walrus Gumble - The title's just kind of wedged in there for no real reason, huh?

The Weakest Suit - This would make a fantastic punk song. Plug in the distortion, crank it up to about 11, and play it at about 175 bpm.

So, votes go to Balance Lost, Future Boy, the Semolina Pilchards, and myself, because I can. On the one-vote system, I would have given it to Balance Lost.
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by furrypedro »

Glennny: I haven't been listening to much Rob Crow related stuff (am now though), this track was me stealing a song called "I sing just for you" by Pens and listening to too much Times New Viking which is why it ended up being uber-fuzzy. I knew I'd get "muddy production" comments, me and my lo-fi obsession :) . The girl is Becci, a girlfriend of a friend. I'm on a guest vocalist spree at the moment, if I win (or even if I don't) I may get her back in. The trick with this song is to put it in to your wave editor and loop it so the end runs seamlessly into the intro and then it runs forever!



Banging Betty: That's just "whole lotta love" innit. Lo-fi, but not bad. Needs something. I like the "we all know" bit, the chords sort of remind me of some Unwound.

Beefwestern: My main problem with this is the editting. You could've (should've) cut it down to about 2 minutes, just used the really essential bits, less wanking, less freestyling and got a much more direct song with more impact. It's basically the same riff over and over for nearly 4 minutes jammed a bit, mostly it works but I think a more solid structure would benefit. Nice falsetto.

Boxer B: If I'd made this myself I'd be pretty pleased with it, but from an outside perspective it's a bit sloppy, ploddy and although it kind of goes somewhere it doesn't have a very interesting dynamic. Ultimately the tune and lyrics don't grab me. sorry but good effort.

Chopped Liver Meat: I like the fucking horrible dirge in this song. I'm not so much into industrial stuff but the guitars remind me of "Captain" by Idlewild. Part of me is disappointed cos I was hoping for some dirty old skool style rapping from Denyer but this will do I suppose, it's worth it for the opening couplet alone. So retarded it's genius. Could've been longer.

Crack m'Jaw: Hey this is pretty cool, I like the loud but lo-fi production. Vox are cool, nice half-vocoding. It loses it's way at the end, I could've happily listened to another minute if you'd moved up a gear. I think you should go back to this track and finish it off with some kind of danceable chorus.

Doscientos: Welcome Back! This ain't a bad kind of bubblegum garage rock but there are a few issues, timing is a bit sloppy here and there, and the vocals are lost in the mix, you should compress the shit out of them and put some distortion on it. Singing with a bit more balls couldn't hurt too. Good but you need to tighten up. The plane taking off sound at the end is awesome.

Ford's Theatre Disaster: I hate your rock voice. Is this Noah singing? When he did that french thing it sounded good but the Eddie Vedder style of vocal delivery has always sounded forced and hammy as fuck to me. The song's not too bad I suppose but the guitars aren't loud enough to give it any punch, it's not super tight and the mix is kinda muffled on all the lead instruments.

Future Boy: man, that beat is the hotness. Like the dude said earlier it doesn't change much, I kind of hoped it would explode but i suppose it develops subtley over the course. This a pretty slick production. I dig. Solid vocals and the lyrics fit together well, but this is all about the track for me, that snippet of bass guitar sliding is cool. I'll think about voting for this one.

Gooey Caramel Centaur: Ukelele is a surefire way to a man's heart. this is a good song and deserving of the praise I've read so far. Catchy, good meter and arrangement, nice claps. Keeper and vote.

Looking for alaska: nice chords. personally little bluesy flourishes always put me off cos anybody can do them, it's the sign of an amateur guitarist trying to show off. Wandery Jack Johnson-style vocals don't do much for me, though you hold your melody well and hit all the right notes. I'd prefer a more distinctive vocal motif. Bit of a nitpicky review there, not a bad song.

Lord of Oats: I remember when you first came a long to songfight and thinking you weren't up to much, but I'd totally pay money for the stuff you're coming up with these days. Vocals still need work, the tone of your voice is constantly whiny which is annoying. There are moments when the whine subsides which proves that you can sing normally, and personally I think you should sing lower, maybe not Stephin Merritt low, but anything to stop the whiny-ness. I love the humour and stream of conciousness style of the lyrics though. Song drags a bit, the rant brings my interest back for the outro. Improve now! Then I will start playing your songs to my friends. Not many SF-ers have that priviledge.

Marrs + Denny: Stoopid and fun. Did you play this yourself or is that melody a sample? Sounds a bit Carol Cleveland Sings. It's brilliant though. Samples are unnecessary, I know - title fulfillment, I'd like a copy of this without them. Really nice, made me smile.

Moster Shit: What's with all the fade-in's? nought wrong with 'em but it's weird, you don't hear one for ages then they all come along in one fight. Yeah, vocals should be higher in the mix. Solid though, I'll send a copy of this to my friend Mike so he can dub it onto his Ragga Heat Reggae Beat tape.

Plato's Pubes: This is pretty cool. Not really compelling but it's got a massive Pixies vibe and if that's what you're going for then I think we can say you pulled it off with a good degree of accomplishment. The more I listen the more I like it.

Pacinder Del Stinkhury: This had better be about flaming genitals or something......haha burning bodies, you do not disappoint Paco! Sorry, that's not funny is it. I'm really into my big boomy floor tom action and I love the brooding middle section you've got there. Man, you should write to Alex Cox and ask if you can A) Do the soundtrack and B) act in one of his films, it would be fucking brilliant. Good stuff, fun, creepy. I was never bored.

Pathetabees: 2 minutes and 46 seconds too long.

Rone: Holy fuck! these notes are in a key and not chosen arbitrarily! This beat has...something resembling rhythm. It would be awkward as hell dancing to it, but still. Are you still doing the EQ thing? Don't slack on that now, it makes a lot of difference to mix nerds like me (and most people). Y'know that bit about 12 seconds in to the song when you sing "pain", and later where you sing "proof" and it distorts on your vocal, to fix that you need to get a pop shield which is basically a bit of stretchy nylon taught around a frame (like tights on a coathanger) and if you sing through that into your mic it stops those distortions. They cost about $8 on ebay. Keep working. Can't say I like it but you're getting more listenable with every entry.

Ross: Good stuff, no vote.

Semolina Pilchards: Real nice song, very shiny. Time sigs are cool as hell, and more impressive, there's a memorable chorus in there (not that you don't do memorable choruses, but the weirder the sig the harder it is to make it catchy). 2nd best song this week ;) defo a keeper

Smile Case: The tone on your guitar when you're playing the opening chords is cool, the notes are good too but I think you overuse them. the sparse bits of acoustic guitar and that superfuzzy guitar in the background are really strange additions to the song, it's like you've got a radio on in the background. I can see why you tried to pad out the arrangement a bit but I think some percussion would be a better idea. Get a tambourine or an egg shaker.

Swilington: It's crazy how many people have used talking samples in this fight. I like how you've used the vocoder mixed with your normal vox, I don't dislike you're voice but I this track sounds better with Soundwave on vocals and when you sing "wrong" in the chorus the way you sing it sounds a bit forced. Cool beat and synths and stuff, I'll consider voting for this, after another cursory listen to the songs again.

Walrus Gumble: Woody Guthrie with delay. Not a good idea, the delay that is, just does not fit with the aesthetic of the song. I like the song though, good sound on the banjo and you use your voice well. The vocal solo is awesome! bwa-bwa -bwaaaaa...

Weakest Suit: I'm seriously considering skipping through this. I read the lyrics, I can tell it's not going anywhere musically. Not bad, but I very much doubt it's gonna change my life. It's all about the lyrics, and I read 'em...........ssssssskip. Sorry.

Some good stuff here. I'm a vote for Semolina Pilchards, Naked Philosophy, Lord of Oats, GCC, Marrs+Denny, and mayyyyybe Paco and Future Boy. hmmmm.....
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by The Weakest Suit »

fürrypedro wrote:Weakest Suit: I'm seriously considering skipping through this. I read the lyrics, I can tell it's not going anywhere musically. Not bad, but I very much doubt it's gonna change my life. It's all about the lyrics, and I read 'em...........ssssssskip. Sorry.
yeah, i can see that a song about what obama and the demorats are doing to the country wouldn't appeal to everyone. i didn't even really want to write anything and bush-bashing is a moot point now that that bastard is out of office. so i twisted the title into sarcasm and wrote about obama and conspiracy theories. you can re-visit this song in a few years when any republican neighbors you may have are rounded up for the "reeducation camps". it may be more relevant then.
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by Ross »

fürrypedro wrote: Ross: Good stuff,
YAY!
no vote.
bummer :-(
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by Ross »

How I heard it.

Naked Philosophy - You build the opening texture interestingly. Why can’t you line up those rhythms on the punch? My biggest problem is that there is just not enough song here for me - I want another verse or something - structural I find myself dissatisfied. ok

Chopped Liver Meat Gods - Well , the 25 or 6 to 4 numerical reference is an interesting idea - but the lyrics and the actual riff rip off are a bit for me - ten it dissolves into a Nirvana spoof - overall it seems a bit all over the board with lyrics htat don’t mean much. thanks for playing

Doscientos - I like the red-black and blue line a lot. Hard to hear a lot of the lyrics with the vocals buried and since they’re not posted that hurts a lot. rocks ok I guess.

Lord of Oats - The intro is long and there is very little happening in it to catch my interest. I like the “maybe” I feel like you are spoofing Furry Pedro here, don’t know why - I think it has to do with the lyrical style (and delivery). In the end it just drones on and on and gets kind of boring. and then the rest is george carlin - I give him a good review.

Looking for Alaska - I like the sound a lot - nice singing. I wish the melody had more structure to it - more cues of when things were coming and going - it almost sounds improvised in that way. Great instincts - I’d love to hear a little more sculpting of the clay.

Future Boy - great build in both instrumental and vocal arrangement. The words totally work. Everything is right here except one thing ... after that last silence - one more chorus needs to bring it on home in a major way. “I”M GONNA BLOW IT OPEN” Vote.

Boxer B - I don’t feel I have that much to say about this. It’s okay - overall I feel like it takes itself a bit too seriously. Ok

Crack my Jaw - Interesting - nice Decemberists reference. Other than that - not much stands out to me.

Smile Case - I’m having a terrible time hearing the vocals in the left ear. Is this about 911 the phone number and someone experiencing a break in - very hard to hear what’s going on hear - that makes it hard to review.

Marrs and Denny -This seems in an interesting pocket to me - but the words are all very prose. I like the way you set it. Like a cross between leroy anderson, octothorpe, and Steve Reich. Wow- pretty interesting little piece.

Walrus Gumble (did you mean Gumboot?) - As A folkie I love the folkie feel. I have no idea why these lyrics ought to make any sense.

Gooey Caramel Centaur - There are a lot of very interesting things going on here - I like the overall artsiness of the words although I haven’t had time to dig into them. I like your work with the arrangement and your overall conceptual approach to the lyrics. You gotta get something different than audacity to bring out more of what you are doing. VEry good - possible vote.

Paco - This is complex and sprawling and not entirely engaging - but a nice advance tribute to mister Paul. So much going on. And the chorus adds little. Rockin - but not quite “there.”

PW - wow - seriously the drummer can’t hit the actual drum head every time? This is way too rough around the edges. Also, I’m not sure I buy the 911 phone number interpretation of the title the way it was posted on the site. The energy is good.

Balance Lost - not very engaging - a bit monotonous - and a very abrupt ending.

swilington - yeah - this type of thing doesn’t push my buttons much. a bit too serious with itself. Well done though, for what it is - which makes it close to a vote.

[continuing at a later time]

Banging Betty - weird how I can hear the lick ahead of time through the headphones. Yay! another McCartney reference. Seems slightly incompletely - perhaps mainly in the recording. It sounds like there is more song in your head than there is in my headphones.

Semolina Pilchards - The opening groove is working well. I think you managed to get the lyrical concept across which is good since it is long stretch from the two towers thing to love. Good arangement. Nicely done.Vote.

Beefwestern - Wow a major Johhny Lydon delivery without the sardonic part. Are you making this up as you go? Bush said the chicken wing thing? Oh, name calling. ok.

Rone - it is customary for there to be a relationship between a beat and the vocals in a song - the lack of any rhythmic lining up of things makes this almost unlistenable - in fact I am working hard to get all the way through it. Is it supposed to sound this disjointed? As a result - the lyrics almost don’t matter. BTW - I disagree that we are supposed to hate the muslims. Abrupt ending.

Mister Shot - This seems like very solid political reggae. hmm - the break about Zeitgeist brings it down a notch - loses some poetry. As a non Reggae fan I guess I don’t have a lot more to say about it - seems good to me.

Ford’s Theater - Rockin! Seems like your vocal tune and the chords don’t always go together. Like your voice anticipates changes that aren’t in the guitar - so you need to adjust one or the other. Good use of sound bites. nice breakdown near the end. Sounds a lot like a song you’d get from a pissed off band that believes this stuff.

Clubs - hmm I guess this alright. based on the lyrics I was expecting a much more angry delivery. Not sure exactly where you're coming from here. I think with a tune like this there is a lot to be gained by either a more interesting tune or more engaging guitar work or both - sounds mostly like a demo. Oh, you totally lose me on the name all the states bit.

So in the end I vote for: Future Boy, Gooey Caramel Centaur, The Semolina Pilchards, and probably me :-)
Last edited by Ross on Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:50 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

Peoples: Thanks for the reviews, and I apologize for getting behind on mine the last few fights. Just way too busy, but will get back on track. Fear not, I still listen to the fights and give everyone a few go arounds. Prediction for the win this week goes to Ross Durand. Lots of good tunes gang, keep'em coming!
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by furrypedro »

The Weakest Suit wrote:you can re-visit this song in a few years when.... it may be more relevant then.
I could. Just so we're clear on this, the reason I didn't dig your song had nothing to do with the lyrics and had a lot to do with the fact the music was boring.
Ross wrote:and a very abrupt ending.
Do I score minus points for that? Surely if anything it demonstrates how tight my playing is :) . Also, I don't think monotonous is the right word, I use lots of notes. Maybe "droning" is what you meant. Not that it'll change you opinion of course, I'll shut up now...

Thanks for reviews. Pete for the win!!
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

Congratulations, Future Boy, on a well-deserved win!
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Re: Opinions from undisclosed locations (9/11 reviews)

Post by furrypedro »

Good result. Word to yo mother Future Boi!
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