Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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canonicalman
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by canonicalman »

I am working on reviews but with 22 entries it is gonna take forever to review them. It takes an hour to listen once and I usually go through several times before posting.

A lot of good entries this week! 10 entries are competing for my vote right now. Hopefully I will have some good advice once I get time to write more / vote. A heard a couple really nice improvements in people.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by Aaron »

Nevermind...
Last edited by Aaron on Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by inevitableguy »

Stubby Phillips wrote: Naked Philosophy: I think this is one of those "you had to be there" moments -- and I wish I had been.
Yeah, it probably is. I was hoping to share a little of the spirit of a Song Fight Live event by submitting it. The live fight is like that - it's kind of silly, kind of stupid, and fueled by copious quantities of alcohol. And sometimes, people even write good songs for it - I don't. :D
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by canonicalman »

Ok finally have reviews. I hope these help people, I may repeat myself or misspell a bit. This many entries run me out of free time. There were a lot of good entries this week. In general my grades are as follows: A is something I will keep, B is someone I will watch and may keep on my play list a few weeks, C is ok, D is deeply flawed, and F means I took more effort listening than you took recording.

Diefledermaus - Sounds a little like Perfect circle. Noise rock. Nice drumming. Drummer really emphasizes/supports the guitar part well. Moody dissonant with both driving and soft melodic parts. Nice to see people using dynamic structure in their songs. Guitar solo at end felt unnecessary and not as well executed as the rest of a nicely atmospheric song. VOTE/A

Ken's super duper band n stuff - Fun lighthearted song. Melody is pleasant, singing nice. Use of cello(?)/stringed instruments is nice addition. Harmonies are decnt but in such a laid back song they feel a bit forced partially due to pitches causing some straining. B+

Jonathan Mann - First off I don't like the effect on the vocal part it just makes you a bit indistinct. Otherwise a pretty nice light song. Chorus choral part was a nice idea weakened by singers being out of tune. Amusing overall though. B+

Queef Mcbeef - I liked the beginning. I thought for a moment you had an entry without unnecessary noise that was going to be catchy and get a vote this week. There is a bit too much distortion in the louder tracks (like they were mixed for a source that saturated the track, not good distortion but destructive clipping) also sections just don't blend into a whole. You can have crazy blips and beeps mesh into a incredible whole. just look at Aphex Twin. (I know that isn't quite your style but other even noisier/cutting edge groups manage to make songs out of noise and have them be catchy and memorable. Your entries need a bit more structure and balance between sections. I do think I hear you moving in the right direction. This week I am giving you a C+. I have high hopes for you going forward since I think I see you developing a bit more.

King Arthur - Light frolic through a field of melodies. Well produced and mixed. This is the first song this week where I have not heard any unnecessary fluff. Parts are clean and help you build the whole. Guitar parts are tasteful and support the melody without unnecessary noodling. Harmonies are balanced nicely. All in all a good song with nothing I could personally improve upon. Bravo. VOTE/A+

Adam featuring Field of Bronze - Decent entry. Chorus was nice and dark. The song was a bit bland up until chorus saved it from being just another cheery melody. I like how it feels like Robert from Cure singing a cheery melody while slitting his wrists and crying. It just has that feel. The arpeggio @1:28 doesn't feel like it fits the song. Also I feel the heavy section later on in the song is tacked on rather than a natural progression of the song toward becoming darker or angrier. That section dragged you down a lot in my eyes. At minimal it could use more build up and the heavy part was not useful or well executed. The piano part following was quite pretty and atmospheric. You almost clinched a vote but came in just short. B-

Steve Durand - I dunno what you changed this week but boy it was great. Your voice sounds stronger, parts are mixed well, the accompanying instruments add a LOT to the work. The female vocalist sounds a bit weak on pitch in the harmonies. But really that is my biggest complaint this week. Your vocals are _dead_on_ this week, _much_ better than a few weeks ago when I ripped on you. I also liked the addition of (mandolin/banjo?). The clarinet part made me miss New Orleans swing bands and clinched you a vote, especially since the Clarinet has great tone. This is the best I have heard you do. Great job and keep up the good work. VOTE/A

Sock puppet - A bit too much reverb on a storyteller song which makes it hard to follow you. I would have liked this more if the vocals came through better and there was a bit less clapping noise. Still a good live performance. Not sure I will give you a vote but I feel this may be a B+

Hatenoise - Gonna give a little allowance for noise since I think this was a live performance. I like that the style is different from other entries. The vocals are too soft. I suggest you get a compressor for the vocalist it does wonders for helping them cut through. Also the mike makes you sound a bit thin. The guitar players are not quite balanced. The lead tends to be a bit too loud early on though guitars balance better later. The background singers add a lot to the song. A fun jammy song but just a few too many flaws for a vote. B-

Evils That Never Came - Something about the slightly dissonant sensibilities in the into really grab my attention. The drums come in a bit strong and feel a bit too plodding. A slightly more off-kilter drum part would support the song style better. I also like the falsetto part before the last part. It is not great singing but it very nicely fits the style of the song. The vocals on the outro I am less fond of, I would like something more here, something that hits harder either in lyrics or performance. I don't think this performance is particularly strong but I dug the feel. It had some creative spark and while the drums did drag it down a bit I still liked it enough to give a vote and will probably download your remixed version for a listen. VOTE/B+

The Idiot Kings - I like the intro up to the 30 second mark. Something in the synth and drums there was too overdone. For example the snare hit was all in my face. The guitar sound in the background is nice and helped you a lot until the distorted part with jumped to the fore but then didn't do much once they got there. I feel the arpeggio and picked chords fit well with the song the distorted section lacks the same nuance and care. Just better inspiration on symphonic backing parts than on lead possibly. Much better job at 3:30 where it is just picking something light. A little extra thee like a soft melodic vocal part by a guest vocalist might have clinched you a vote. As it is the song is fun but was just short of the vote. B+

Seamus collective - First impression is there is a bit too much delay reverb on the guitar. Nice clean vocal part by comparison, but while the singing is nice it isn't amazing. And personally I feel when a song feels so much like a 'standard' you really need a knockout singer to stand out. I hear a lot of work having been done here, background singers, harmonies, overdubs. The parts around 2:10 feel stilted and uncomfortable and the song as a whole doesn't have anything that really grabs me. Also the guitar at the end of each pattern is a bit too much. Flowing through a pattern shift in a more understated fashion feels a bit more professional than overplaying the transition. B-

Naked Philosophy/Zipline - I know this is live but the miking is pretty bad. Parts don't have much balance. And what is with the start/stop at :30? Sounds like that was an accident rather than a part of the song. Lastly you labeled the Mp3 as Zipline rather than with the artist name which is a huge annoyance when there are this many entries. I can only give this a D as a result.

Wages - Others have mentioned the vocal issues. If you are rehearsing that many time you should consider warming up slowly, drinking more water, and resting occasionally. Your voice sounds shot and that is usually an indicator that you just don't take care of it. I hear a warm emotional vocal tone in you but it is killed by having no control due to fatigue. And when you are going with guitar and voice you have only your playing and your voice to stand upon so you really cant afford to have problems with either. The song sounds like it could have been better. Instead of practicing so many times try recording more guitar takes and then working only with the best take and doing a couple vocal takes. It give you a chance to sit back and take a day to think then try vocals again after rest. Reaper would let you do this and I think working with some software would let you develop post production skills. As you are now you sound raw and unpolished. You can either work much harder and not make mistakes or use multiple takes and more production to help select the best bits to make it sound like you are not making mistakes. Either will be more time consuming initially but will teach you a lot and help you progress further in your sound. Until then you are just someone who has a good voice tone, no control, and a crappy sounding guitar. I really WANT you to do better. I would love to have your vocal tone instead of mine. D

McCalum - Decent sounding but hard to stand out with all the guitar and vocal entries. I would suggest compressing guitar and vocals a bit to help them feel louder. In particular vocals need to be brought to the fore a bit more. C

Marcey - You manage to stand out a bit more than McCalum by having a good initial attack on the song. But there is too much harmony. Harmony is like frosting. People like it but if you put it everywhere in massive amounts you make people sick. Think of using it tactically to emphasize particular sections or just soften the second track and pan it in the mix so it blends better except when you really need it to come out. As it stands your harmonic parts are a off in pitch and it weakens the song. Your voice in the solo sections has better sound and I particularly like the initial attack when you sound more aggressive/assertive. I would like to hear the singer make an angry song as she sounds a bit wasted on a song like this. You have some fire and I want to hear more from you. C+

newresult - First off I want to say this is a better entry this week. I was dreading your entry after the last couple weeks of no progress but this time vocal bits are not placed completely randomly and have actually have a position which sorta fits the song and the structure accommodates these sections in a fashion that lets me see some writing taking place. I still feel the music does not evoke the mood of the subject matter. Try varying the instrument voices more week to week and try to evoke a bit more emotion or variation in the melodic parts to fit the entry subject and I think you will really be getting somewhere! The music suffers from having similar synth voicing to past week's but I like the progress you have made. C-

Rycehat - Vocals sound a bit thin and nasal on the recording. I think some of the problem is you need a better sounding microphone with some mid-range. Also try to get a richer sound through your mouth. Avoid over using your nasal cavity and singing through your head for high sounds. This is odd in that you are often taught to sing through the top of your head to get high pitches without straining. But you have no problem there what you need now is a thicker tone to warmth up your singing. The bass could be brought forward some in the mix, a bit of compression will help with this. Also the guitar chorus effect is just too prominent and artificial. A bit less of it on the recording or maybe just add a touch afterwards using a filter would give you more control over the sound. C-

Roymond - This song makes me think of the Doors with some influence from Hendrix/Pink Floyd thrown in. The recording quality suffers for being live but most parts come through more clearly than other live recordings here. The place where you did the high vocal "ooh oooh" part is off in pitch and suggests the singer should work a bit on control when using falsetto (Not something most people have good control of honestly). I felt the guitar solo is just "ok" (note I am biased by occasionally playing with the living reincarnation of Stevie Ray Vaughn.) I think the song could have used a bit more variety but at the same time I liked the mix of influences/sounds enough to give you a B despite my criticism. Mainly because I have a soft spot for 9th chords and it was just catchy enough to catch my fancy. But I would have liked to see you do more with it. B-

Tailirine Irene - Interesting, I haven't heard many female rappers on here. Welcome to songfight. The intro is a under produced especially the "singing" which comes off as thin and whiny sounding. Put more air behind your voice and really belt it out, you have pitch but you need to get into your chest and just fill the room with sound. You sound much fuller when rapping, why are you so hesitant when singing? Also the beginning is the hook that grabs people's attention, you want it to be strong. A bit of post production (compression and normalization) would help balance volume levels throughout. You want the whole song to have the same presence and right now it varies too much in presence to be on the radio. Not a bad entry, I felt your rapping was pretty decent, but the singing quality dragged you down. C

Dial Emergency - On the recording the singer doesn't project well, has some pitch problems, and had feedback&dissonance on the chorus/bridge which all hurt your entry. As it is the song is kinda simple and it take a lot to impress as voice and guitar. Work on filling the room a bit more with your voice. It wouldn't have hurt to do something more on the guitar. With weak pitch the entry just doesn't have much to stand upon. D

Abjure!/Untitled - First off, you lost points off the top for not properly labeling your mp3 properly. With 22 entries this week figuring out who you were was a real chore. The performance isn't bad but it is also not strong enough to stand out with all the competition this week. Guitar/vocals and maraca makes it sound like a lively campfire song. Some of the vocal interjections made the entry feel a bit sloppy and slapdash. C-
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by the idiot king »

reviews, pt. 1...


naked philosophy - definite points for going for a similar theme as me...i love the drum programming. when the "songy" part kicks in, i enjoy this quite a bit more. i sort of wish there was no guitar until then.

die fledermaus - i love the tick!! did your name come from there, or the opera? very jesus and mary chain on the vocal front. that's a good thing for me. i get where you're going with it, but a bit more volume for the vox would definitely help. good recording otherwise. the chord changes are sort of unexpected in a very expected way. it's familiar, but not derivative. i really enjoy this.

queef mcbeef - i'm envisioning that there's a club somewhere deep in somerville that has like fifteen people who come regularly from all over the state to dance and drink to music like this. they're probably wearing capes, maybe masks. there might be one or two girls among them. i probably would not hang out at this club.

the idiot kings - me. not live, but it went in its own direction. i'm happy with it. if you don't like it, whatever. i do. no one can always say that.

sock puppet - i like the faux-live recording. i would have actually be unsure, had it not been for the unnaturally planned clap-along. the laughs are great. i like the science-gone-wrong theme pitted against a generic-ish i-iv-v.

steve durand - ukeleles are truly everywhere these days, aren't they? competent, but nothing is grabbing me; there's no real hook to speak of.

abjure! - amusing lyrics. solid background harmonies, but they're occasionally a bit jumbled. if they were tighter, this would be a great entry. right now, it's a very good entry.

rycehat - immediately made me think of "every rose has its thorn" with the opening chords. fortunately, the difference between the two is that this goes somewhere far more tolerable. the guitar FX are really cool, but i would actually have liked to hear some drums and background vocals on this guy. not bad by any stretch, but it feels more like a "demo" to me than a "song".

jonathan mann - great songwriting, sir! this is one of my favorites already, and i'm barely 50% in. the arrangement is solid; if i had one major criticism production-wise, it's that there's a bit too much shaker. short of that, this is all around well-done. you get a vote, for sure.

marcey - i really like your voice. tight harmonies. this reminds me a lot of a singer/songwriter from denver called danielle ate the sandwich; you should check her out. the guitar recording itself is not phenomenal; how did you mic it?

ken's super duper band n' stuff - an old school songfighter! yay! i missed seeing anyone i recognized last week. great arrangement; the strings sound really cool. what did you use to create them? the vocals seem a little loud, but then, i always keep mine a bit low. good bg's.

a far off plan feat. field of bronze - lots of shaker this week. i think there's something about "live recording" that subconsciously inspires the desire to add a shaker to things. with the exception of the "heavy" bit, very clean production; every instrument has its own space and plenty of breathing room. speaking of the heavy bit, i don't know if it's as a result of the mix, but it seems so out of place, and not in a good way. it transitions much better into the part afterwards, which is pretty damned awesome. epic, but not paranoid android epic. i'd be interested in hearing a more seamless mix in regards to the heavy bit entering.

king arthur - another familiar face/name/voice! your production chops are top notch, as always. i wouldn't mind hearing slightly wetter vocals; they seem very dry to me. i think even if you backed off of the mic a little and let a bit more room sound in, that may do the trick without any additional reverb or anything. very catchy melodies, though, and i am liking the harmonies. possible vote.

dial EMERGENCY - when things are in all caps, IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE YOU'RE YELLING AT ME. STOP YELLING AT ME! the juxtaposition between your name and music is very amusing to me. this is probably the second actual (mostly) live recording i have yet heard this week, so congratulations on going for the optional challenge. it always takes a bit more guts to do it, especially with the live aspect. i'd complain about production quality, but i think lo-fi works out ok. pretty, and it would be good background music for a wes anderson movie.

more to come...
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

I just realized that this was my 20th entry. Go figure.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by fluffy »

the idiot king wrote:sock puppet - i like the faux-live recording. i would have actually be unsure, had it not been for the unnaturally planned clap-along. the laughs are great. i like the science-gone-wrong theme pitted against a generic-ish i-iv-v.
The funny thing is that the audience clapping is pretty much the ONLY thing that actually went that way at the original live performance. Although yeah, they didn't start up QUITE that quickly and unaminously - that was the one bit in my halfassed "live recording" attempt I wasn't happy with, since I couldn't find a good audience-clapping-along sample.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by the idiot king »

The funny thing is that the audience clapping is pretty much the ONLY thing that actually went that way at the original live performance. Although yeah, they didn't start up QUITE that quickly and unaminously - that was the one bit in my halfassed "live recording" attempt I wasn't happy with, since I couldn't find a good audience-clapping-along sample.
i'll tell you, the slow clap is one of the toughest things i've ever had to emulate. the sad thing is, it really needs to be discussed by a group of at least four, and then multitracked. the amount of planning is very bizarre. otherwise everyone either starts way too early or way too late.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by ken »

the idiot king wrote:reviews, pt. 1...

ken's super duper band n' stuff - an old school songfighter! yay! i missed seeing anyone i recognized last week. great arrangement; the strings sound really cool. what did you use to create them? the vocals seem a little loud, but then, i always keep mine a bit low. good bg's.

more to come...
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Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Berkeley Social Scene - Tiny Robots - Seamus Collective - Semolina Pilchards - Cutie Pies - Explino! - Bravo Bros. - 2 from 14 - and more!

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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by HolstBen »

A Far off Land ft. Field of Bronze - Really nice recording. What mic(s) do you use to record your guitar? It's great. Nice little tune, too. I hate noise rock, so I loathed your heavy bit in the middle. Is it a commonplace thing to like noise rock around here? I really don't see the appeal. Sorry. Other than that, though, I really enjoyed this one. [vote]

Abjure! - Argh, tag your music correctly. This is the third time listening through all these and yours is certainly the catchiest one of the bunch. I dislike ABBA, but your chorus harmonies remind me of them. Also, how the heck you went from "Hello My Old Heart" to your cow story, I'll never understand. I like the kind of "hey everyone come join in" nature of the harmonies, really brought it through well. [vote]

Dial EMERGENCY - Haunting vocal. Nice song. Nothing really stands out against the crowd, I'm afraid.

die fledermaus - I still dislike noise rock. I also can't make out many of your lyrics under your guitar layers. The bass guitar is pretty low. I love the bit where it gets all intense at 2:29. Nice and heavy there, and the subsequent quiet/loud section directly afterward. I got into this one the more I listened to it. [vote]

Evils That Never Came - Another great guitar recording, how do people do it? I can't manage it at all (then again, I only have an SM58). This reminds me of a band, and I can't figure out which one. Like Wheatus, perhaps? But not as tacky. Perfect production; I like your irregular chord progressions too. Was swaying to this one! [vote]

The HATE Noise - Rolling Stones meets Jamiroquai meets Lenny Kravitz. S'all I'm saying. Goes on a bit too long. Can you post your lyrics? [vote]

the idiot kings - You kind of lose the story somewhere in the middle of the song, and the vocal phrasing is cringeworthy in some lines. Nice use of 8-bit drums.

Jonathan Mann - This is endearing. Really nice little song. Suitably lo-fi recording, too. [vote]

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Personal preference, I don't really like your voice, I'm sorry. I don't think this detracts too much from the rest of the song, though. The cello sound was a very wise choice. Well recorded overall, and very listenable, harmonically. Well played! [vote]

King Arthur - The intro to this song is one of the happiest things I have ever heard in my life. Other than your voice, sounds like something by Barenaked Ladies. I love the lyrics too. Production is top-notch. This is my favourite of this fight, m'lord, downloading this one. [vote]

Marcey - Oversaturated harmonies ruin this one for me, I'm afraid, and a veryveryveryslightly off-pitch note at the very end. Sing more solo things, I like your voice. I just don't like it too much in this.

McCalum - I've listened to these three times, and I honestly cannot remember listening to this one at all. You lost my vote when you used filler lyrics. Isn't that really really really really weird? I like your voice though, and I like your music, it's just not up to the standard of the rest of this week's entries.

Naked Philosophy/Zipline - Which are you? Bonus points for doing a live performance, regardless if the crowd wouldn't shut up. I don't really like your song. It's... pretty out there.

New Result - Oh for God's sake.

queef mcbeef - Now for the last few fights, I've slated your songs, passing them off as noise and unimpressive. THIS, however, is different. This is damn clever. I still don't like the genre, so I can't be fair when critiquing, but this is ACRES better than your previous entries. If there was a little bit more consistent melody in the next one, I will definitely vote.

roymond & friends - Your main riff is awesome. Nodding my head to the beat, for sure. The guitar solo is really nice, too. While the song itself is a bit suspect, I'm voting. More bonus points for doing this live. [vote]

Rycehat - They Might Be Giants? This is a strange song. I wish there would have been drums towards the end, and a stronger bassline. The phaser/flanger gets a bit old toward the end. I liked it, though. Pleasing, but not expansive enough for my tastes.

the Seamus Collective - A couple of timing issues don't detract from your great vocalist. I like the harmonies and descending bassline sections. Could have done with a less intrusive electric guitar part. Perhaps a bit less treble? Middle? I'm not sure. I'm not good with amps. Saying that, this is a great song. [vote]

Sockpuppet - It's an alright song, though I don't like talky-talky country ballads like this. And your fake live recording made me cringe. Sorry. Was every line really that funny?

Steve Durand - Once again, a wonderful piano sound. You won a vote with the [sax/clarinet?] solo and the interesting progression. This is such a pleasing song. You never fail to impress, Mr. Durand. Smiled at "goodbye my new head, hello my old heart." [vote]

Tailirine Irene - Not my style of music at all. I don't know what to say that isn't outrageously negative, so just note the previous sentence.

Wages - Haven't got much more to add than what everyone else has already said re: pitching issues, How You Remind Me-esque sections; were you making up the vocal melody every take? This is very apparent from 1:25.

Much better than last time from EVERYBODY. Well done, folks.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by not-just-yeti »

Ken's Super Duper Band n Stuff: You definitely win in the "most intriguing two intro lines" category!
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by fluffy »

the idiot king wrote:ken's super duper band n' stuff - an old school songfighter! yay! i missed seeing anyone i recognized last week.

king arthur - another familiar face/name/voice!
Heeeeey, wait a minute...
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by Who_Izzy »

HolstBen wrote:A Far off Land ft. Field of Bronze - Really nice recording. What mic(s) do you use to record your guitar? It's great. Nice little tune, too. I hate noise rock, so I loathed your heavy bit in the middle. Is it a commonplace thing to like noise rock around here? I really don't see the appeal. Sorry. Other than that, though, I really enjoyed this one. [vote]

Abjure! - Argh, tag your music correctly. This is the third time listening through all these and yours is certainly the catchiest one of the bunch. I dislike ABBA, but your chorus harmonies remind me of them. Also, how the heck you went from "Hello My Old Heart" to your cow story, I'll never understand. I like the kind of "hey everyone come join in" nature of the harmonies, really brought it through well. [vote]

Dial EMERGENCY - Haunting vocal. Nice song. Nothing really stands out against the crowd, I'm afraid.

die fledermaus - I still dislike noise rock. I also can't make out many of your lyrics under your guitar layers. The bass guitar is pretty low. I love the bit where it gets all intense at 2:29. Nice and heavy there, and the subsequent quiet/loud section directly afterward. I got into this one the more I listened to it. [vote]

Evils That Never Came - Another great guitar recording, how do people do it? I can't manage it at all (then again, I only have an SM58). This reminds me of a band, and I can't figure out which one. Like Wheatus, perhaps? But not as tacky. Perfect production; I like your irregular chord progressions too. Was swaying to this one! [vote]

The HATE Noise - Rolling Stones meets Jamiroquai meets Lenny Kravitz. S'all I'm saying. Goes on a bit too long. Can you post your lyrics? [vote]

the idiot kings - You kind of lose the story somewhere in the middle of the song, and the vocal phrasing is cringeworthy in some lines. Nice use of 8-bit drums.

Jonathan Mann - This is endearing. Really nice little song. Suitably lo-fi recording, too. [vote]

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Personal preference, I don't really like your voice, I'm sorry. I don't think this detracts too much from the rest of the song, though. The cello sound was a very wise choice. Well recorded overall, and very listenable, harmonically. Well played! [vote]

King Arthur - The intro to this song is one of the happiest things I have ever heard in my life. Other than your voice, sounds like something by Barenaked Ladies. I love the lyrics too. Production is top-notch. This is my favourite of this fight, m'lord, downloading this one. [vote]

Marcey - Oversaturated harmonies ruin this one for me, I'm afraid, and a veryveryveryslightly off-pitch note at the very end. Sing more solo things, I like your voice. I just don't like it too much in this.

McCalum - I've listened to these three times, and I honestly cannot remember listening to this one at all. You lost my vote when you used filler lyrics. Isn't that really really really really weird? I like your voice though, and I like your music, it's just not up to the standard of the rest of this week's entries.

Naked Philosophy/Zipline - Which are you? Bonus points for doing a live performance, regardless if the crowd wouldn't shut up. I don't really like your song. It's... pretty out there.

New Result - Oh for God's sake.

queef mcbeef - Now for the last few fights, I've slated your songs, passing them off as noise and unimpressive. THIS, however, is different. This is damn clever. I still don't like the genre, so I can't be fair when critiquing, but this is ACRES better than your previous entries. If there was a little bit more consistent melody in the next one, I will definitely vote.

roymond & friends - Your main riff is awesome. Nodding my head to the beat, for sure. The guitar solo is really nice, too. While the song itself is a bit suspect, I'm voting. More bonus points for doing this live. [vote]

Rycehat - They Might Be Giants? This is a strange song. I wish there would have been drums towards the end, and a stronger bassline. The phaser/flanger gets a bit old toward the end. I liked it, though. Pleasing, but not expansive enough for my tastes.

the Seamus Collective - A couple of timing issues don't detract from your great vocalist. I like the harmonies and descending bassline sections. Could have done with a less intrusive electric guitar part. Perhaps a bit less treble? Middle? I'm not sure. I'm not good with amps. Saying that, this is a great song. [vote]

Sockpuppet - It's an alright song, though I don't like talky-talky country ballads like this. And your fake live recording made me cringe. Sorry. Was every line really that funny?

Steve Durand - Once again, a wonderful piano sound. You won a vote with the [sax/clarinet?] solo and the interesting progression. This is such a pleasing song. You never fail to impress, Mr. Durand. Smiled at "goodbye my new head, hello my old heart." [vote]

Tailirine Irene - Not my style of music at all. I don't know what to say that isn't outrageously negative, so just note the previous sentence.

Wages - Haven't got much more to add than what everyone else has already said re: pitching issues, How You Remind Me-esque sections; were you making up the vocal melody every take? This is very apparent from 1:25.

Much better than last time from EVERYBODY. Well done, folks.
I know, right? Even I did better than last time and I didn't even enter this time...which says something about my last entry
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by the idiot king »

fluffy wrote: Heeeeey, wait a minute...

to be fair, i had no idea what project you were involved in last week at the time. :)
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by fluffy »

Well, I've been submitting as "Sockpuppet" (and nothing else) for the last 4 years, so. (And I haven't used "fluffy porcupine" in around 6 years but people keep introducing my band as that on stage, or even worse, introducing ME as that. Yeesh.)
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by Stubby Phillips »

"With a name like 'Fluffy', it HAS to be good."
Enter a song? Review songs!
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by Reist »

the idiot king wrote:die fledermaus - i love the tick!! did your name come from there, or the opera?
:D

yeah, it's a tick reference. on the same note, I'm just starting work on a more-accessible rock project called american maid.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by Spintown »

http://spintown79.blogspot.com/2010/08/ ... heart.html

King Arthur - I had my 10 year reunion not that long ago, and I think this song really captures the feeling of those moments. Best song of the fight.

Steve Durand - Cute...sweet...simple...enjoyable. I don't know why so many people hate ukes? When used right, they're great.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'N Stuff - I didn't really dig the live performance, but I really enjoyed listening to this version.

The Seamus Collective - This is another song I didn't really dig at the Live Fight, but found myself really into listening to this recording. I'm not really big on live music period, so that has a lot to do with me having issues with some of the songs at the Live Fight.

--------------------------------- If you're above the line you got a vote, if below you were extremely close.

McCalum - Lyrically I think you stumble around a lot, especially at the start. But the song picks up, and is pretty enjoyable. I liked the idea behind the song.

Abjure! - You had me with the line, "She'd dislocate her jaw at will". Funny shit.

Jonathan Mann - I was in the chat room cheering for you during the Live Fight, and I think you're getting a vote in this fight as well. Phones really need to come with a breathalyzer to prevent drunk dialing.

Tailirine Irene - Music was interesting. The singing didn't really sit well with me, but the rapping wasn't bad....even though I couldn't pick up everything. USE THE LYRICS FORUM!

A Far Off Land featuring Field Of Bronze: I was somewhat into the song for the first 3 minutes...then whatever interest I had was kicked right out the door & wasn't allowed back in.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by the idiot king »

Reist wrote: :D

yeah, it's a tick reference. on the same note, I'm just starting work on a more-accessible rock project called american maid.

ha, if we ever collaborate, it should be under crusading chameleon or sewer urchin.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by roymond »

HolstBen wrote:roymond & friends - Your main riff is awesome. Nodding my head to the beat, for sure. The guitar solo is really nice, too. While the song itself is a bit suspect, I'm voting. More bonus points for doing this live. [vote]
Hey, thanks. In defense of the band that grateously agreed to support me that night, they had only heard a rough audio memo of the song written hours before, and we didn't rehearse at all. I regret not having used an electric acoustic so that I wouldn't be bound by the guitar mic, cause, you know, I could have totally wailed then! But such is the magic of what we call the live-fight.
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by JonPorobil »

Congratulations, King Arthur! Been a long time coming, but you deserved it!

So... Now who's gone the longest without winning?
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Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
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Re: Greetings, Ancient Stag O' Mine (HMOH Reviews)

Post by fluffy »

Yeah, wow, congrats KA! Hopefully this is just the beginning of a beautiful winning streak. It's also pretty fitting for the closest thing we have to an official anniversary fight!

(For the record, his 7-year/80 song streak handily beats my 6-year/30-odd song run, which I think was the previous record at least in terms of time, not to mention entry count. And that ignores me being part of several winning collaborations much earlier, which I don't think KA has ever been on either.)
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