Brick-a-brack & random beaching (Favourite Lego Brick rev.)

[BBABM]

Long title.... Not enough room... For... All... The... Funk

[Niveous]

Perhaps a shorter title like "Plastic Beach"?

[blgisonsongfight]

Say, why do all of the review threads have really weird and/or corny names? Why not just "Favorite Lego Bricks Reviews"?

[Niveous]

One of the many traditions of Songfight. Collect them all!

[BBABM]

Well, our entry was short this week, so I will try to keep my critiques brief.

Derictello: I like it, but the effect(?) on the drums makes them sound off beat. The snare is on, but those hi-hats are wacky.

Cabbage stare: it sounds like my nintendo got stuck on level 1-4 of super Mario bros. And my brother won't stop saying Lego bricks. I'd punch him.

Fitzroy: my entry, with my friend bb... He did not plan on writing this song. I sprung the title on him during a jam/practice session. I apologize for the quality, this was recorded on a tascam 4 track (with a cassett tape) live on one mic slung over the vocal amp, and another in between the drums and guitar amp. Bb came up with the words on the spot, and we can't even understand all of them. We stole the idea I believe niveous talked about his kids losing legos at the beach. This song is from the point of view of a child who has lost a crucial Lego piece,thus unable to complete their epic Lego sand castle. Temper tantrum included. I hope you can get past the recording quality, and enjoy. It was fun to play drums to... I like smashing things.

Ross durand: Cool kids song, and the kazoo solo clenched it.

Idiosyncope: spacey, I like it. If I were to change one thing, the bass would be turned down a little. And two, though you have a good voice and can totally pull off all the crazy changes and whatnot it kinda seems a little cluttered with change. Perhaps what you were going for.

Lonbobby: I like the acoustic guitar, it adds contrast to the auto tune. You always seem to write songs I want to hear without auto tune, this one actually fits for me. Good job.

Dollar bill & the inkpoints: I like all the low wubby noises. Super trippy

Bootlegged waters w/ Dante: you were rocking out, there was some serious stuff there for a second. I want loud drums, obnoxious distortion, screaming, and your parents banging down the door... And you need to kick stuff, I heard you hit the mic stand a couple times, that's a good start.

Hunky+signboy: you got it on tape... Twice... Almost the same, but just off enough to make me a little dizzy. I like the premise though.

Backward binoculars: bloopity noises are funny. It ended where there should have been a build up, and I was excited to hear what was next... I wanted crazy techno to go off the chain...

Votes go to fitzroy, Lonbobby, and bootleg, because it really sounded like you were rocking out so hard you smacked into the mic or something, passion gets votes in my book.

[Smalltown Mike]

The Fitzroy track is awesome.

[blgisonsongfight]

I figured it'd make me look even more obnoxious to just vote for myself without giving the others a fair chance. Who does that, anyway? Those who I voted for are in bold:

Fitzroy: You had me until you started singing... I'm not a big fan of screamo-type stuff, but that's just me really.
Dollar Bill + Inkpoints: I like it. I'll admit I forget why I liked it, but I liked it nonetheless. Good, kind of hard-to-describe sound.
idiosyncope: I like her voice. Emotional performance... I guess passion gets my vote too. Very... consistent song, I'd say.
Cabbage Stare: Oh good god... just... no... I mean, I do love the chiptune sound in general, but I'm not much for trance/dance/"experimental" music.
Lonbobby: WOW! That's my favorite one so far by a long shot. The auto-tune (is that even auto-tune?) on top of acoustic instruments is an interesting choice that works out really well. And I'm impressed that you made an emotional reflection about legos not sound completely corny and ridiculous. I might have to download this one...
Derictello: I don't like the effect on the drums either, but the lyrics are quite funny and make up for it in a big way.
Ross Durand: Love it, man. I mean, the kazoo kinda threw me off a little, but besides that everything is just excellently done.
Bootlegged Waters/D.J.: Not bad, not bad. Dante sounds very slightly off-beat or rushed at times (he kept complaining I was asking him to sing too fast, as if I was asking him to perfectly perform an Eminem song on the first run), and it doesn't quite stack up to Ross and Lonbobby, but it's definitely something I can be proud of.
backward binoculars: not bad, but there's something about the whole thing that kinda makes me not quite "feel it". I don't get those types of "artistic/controlled/orchestrated chaos" music. Unless that's not what you were going for and I'm missing something.
Hunky + Signboy: Interesting sound, but I really like it. Hunky reminds me of MC Lars. And big props for using the word "defenestrate". Homie.

I think this is gonna be a really close fight. Lots of good contenders. Can't wait to see the results!

[BBABM]

The Fitzroy track is awesome.

Thanks mike!

[Ross]

, the kazoo kinda threw me off a little, but besides that everything is just excellently done.

thanks for the review.

Just curious, threw you off a little because (a) it was unexpected, (b) not excellently done (c) sticks out too much in the mix, (d) other

[blgisonsongfight]

Mostly because it was unexpected.

[blgisonsongfight]

Oh yes, and thanks for the vote, BBABM. I'll see if I can pull off a more produced sound next week.

[inevitableguy]

I haven't reviewed in a while, so I thought I'd get in on the action while there was a small fight out there. Highly opinionated and largely unhelpful reviews (TM) were written during the first listen. Listened to (and presented) in random order.

Maybe I haven't had enough coffee yet, but this entire fight sounds about 5 bpm too slow.

Cabbage Stare - I should hate this, but I actually don't. I'm not about to listen to it again, though.
Fitzroy - I bet that was a lot of fun to record. You captured a mood, certainly, but I can't understand the lyrics, so I'm not sure if it's the right one.
Hunky + Signboy - For me, this sort of drags a bit. The rap-like vocals should be more dynamic (less monotone). The drums should punch harder.
backward binoculars - This sounds like something I would have recorded with my friends when I was 15. I like the keyboard bits, but this needs more drive.
Ross Durand - It's not a bad song, but it is a little too gimmick-y for my tastes, especially the harmonized kazoo solo.
Lonbobby - I like this, but I wish it was a little bit faster, and I don't care for the overly-processed vocal sound.
Bootlegged Waters (and Dante Joseph) - If the vocal is going to carry the song, it needs to be strong, clear, and on pitch.
idiosyncope - This has a really cool dynamic. I like the shifts. The vocals are a tiny bit weak in some parts.
Derictello - I think I'd like this more if all of the instruments weren't so locked into each other. I want to hear a second guitar doing something else off on one side of the stereo field.
Dollar Bill & the Inkpoints - I like the lyrics, but the song is too monotonous.

[BBABM]

.
Fitzroy - I bet that was a lot of fun to record. You captured a mood, certainly, but I can't understand the lyrics, so I'm not sure if it's the right one.

It was supposed to be a Childs tantrum, which I've witnessed to be Incomprehensable... I'll post what I can deduce from them in the lyrics post

[bdog5778]

Yup, as the proud father of 6 children, allow me to assure that this captures it perfectly. I love this s#1! Loud, incoherent, and ends as suddenly as it began (naptime!...takes a lot of energy to stage one of those things).

Your singer is great, too. Can he keep going without losing his voice? I would love it if you can could get a better production, but still...this is a LOT of fun.

[BBABM]

Your singer is great, too. Can he keep going without losing his voice? I would love it if you can could get a better production, but still...this is a LOT of fun.

we have not really tested the limits of his vocal stamina, but he can keep it up for about half an hour of practice before recording this... and we are working on better recording methods, this was sort of impromptu, and i happened to be able to tweak the levels enough to make it listenable. thanks for the feedback!

[godescalc]

I notice there's a new addition to the list since yesterday – lalabrookie – late arrival, or did the fightmaster forget a song initially?

Lonbobby: great tune, interesting lyrics. I quite like the autotune sound when used well, and this is used well.
Lalabrookie: I like this one quite a bit. Good tune, the vocals are rather good, the lyrics likewise and go well with the music (the use of lego bricks is slightly ill-fitting, but it's the title, which gets you a pass in my book). Wouldn't mind an entry for this in the lyrics archive.
Ross Durand: not bad, but lyrics are a bit... what's the word? Twee? Also the description of people as having painted smiles manages to tip the whole thing into the Uncanny Valley for a moment, which is an achievement, as I don't think songs are supposed to be able to do that. Musically it's good – ukelele and kazoos, two great tastes that go well together! But with the vocals front and centre like this, the song stands or falls on the lyrics, and the lyrics don't quite do it for me.
Idiosyncope: love this one. I'm trying to think what it reminds me of – a little of Kate Bush, I think. The voice is fantastic, the instrumentation mostly doing a solid job until about the 2-minute mark where it sounds like things are going out of tune.
Derictello: fun tune, fun lyrics. Only song ever to rhyme “harpy” with “sharpie”? Quite possibly! (I'm a sucker for new and original rhymes.)
Dollar Bill & the Inkpoints: good stuff. Not much to say at the moment, but I like it.
Hunky/Signboy: ...I have no idea what this song's really about, but for the weird and intriguing lyrics, archaic use of “gentle” as a verb (...no, wait, he's actually saying "channel", n/m; pity), the decent music, and the fact that the beat grabs me immediately on the song starting up, it has my vote.
Bootlegged waters: I initially disliked this one due to the vocals, which are both off-key and too dynamically uneven (it gets louder and quieter in a way that seems a bit careless and controlled: the unevenness of "what you gonna do" at 1:12 being one of about a dozen examples), but it grows on me with listening. The music's not bad and the lyrics are pretty fun, and it's quite a good song overall, but the vocals still bother me; and around 1:37 there's a bass guitar incursion I'd have to describe as spectacularly ill-advised: not quite in time and feels like it's wandered in from a totally different genre of music. (...on relistening, the same bass guitar riff serves as intro as well... it doesn't work as well there either.)
Backward Binoculars: weird, distinctive, short and sweet. I like.
Fitzroy: ...what the hell was that
...I mean that in a good way. Sort of. Well, it's memorable.

EDIT: forgot Cabbage Stare: ok, I guess? I like the first 10-20 seconds, and then, it doesn't really go anywhere. More variation in the lyrics would have served this song well - the industrial beat and the occasional incursion of other instruments are done reasonably well and would serve well to undergird and intertwine with a more involved meditation on the brickiness of lego, but as it is, the fact that the vocals are just "lego bricks" repeated over and over gives the music nothing to work with and play off of.

Will probably vote for: Lonbobby for the great tune, Idiosyncope for originality and having absolutely beautiful vocals, Hunky Signboy for using the phrase “diabolical daleks”. I may vote for Dollar Bill &TIP, Backward Binoculars, lalabrookie and Derictello, as their songs are pretty good; tho if I vote for all the songs I like I'll be voting for over half the entries.

[Spintown]

http://spintown79.blogspot.com/2011/02/ ... ricks.html

Only 3 this time...I'm lazy.

Hunky + Signboy - I honestly didn't expect anything this good in this fight. You built an ass of LEGO, and kicked it into thousands of little bits. Clever & fun lyrics, liked the performance, and the music was...good. Nothing bad to say, thanks for entering a great track. (Voted)

Ross Durand - Cute. Song truely is inspired by the title, even if part of the actual title is only said once at the start & end of the song. Honestly, with such a stupid title...that's probably a good choice. (Voted)

Lonbobby - Relaxing music, and I like the effects you use on your voice. I liked how you used the first part of this stupid title, but didn't catch anything referencing the second part. I would have voted for it had you used it, but it's still a solid entry.

[Spud]

I notice there's a new addition to the list since yesterday – lalabrookie – late arrival, or did the fightmaster forget a song initially?

It was in on time. There was a misunderstanding which has since been resolved. It is eligible for a vote, just like all on-time entries.

[Codaflux]

Lonbobby
Good tune, nice lyrical work, but after the f'ing ridiculously awesome song you dropped for "Boron Rod", I must admit I was a bit let down. Not a fan of the vocal modulation effect, the lyrics are really good though and the music well played.

Ross
I have to be honest and tell you that I wanted to dislike this, all based on your negative and harsh attitude on the boards, but man do I like this song, it has by far the most meaningful lyrics. It's as if Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and Mister Rodgers collaborated on a song for a Sunday School class. So, fair is fair, opinions are opinions, and this song is great. I am going to put it on the playlist rotation for my toddlers (2 & 4) at home. Only knock, God did not use his favorite Lego bricks when he made kazoos, probably reject Kinex blocks or something, can't get into the kazoos.

Dollar Bill
Like the effects, the beat is groovy, I picture myself listening to this while purple hazing, but the lyrics were a bit unintelligible.

Fitzroy
Eric really likes this, particularly your voice. I like the early Beastie Boys feel of the song, but the vocals were not for me. Also, no mids, no depth to the sound, it seems like an impromptu recording session broke out while you were oyster picking in a diving bell. I did rock out to it though...

Hunky
Pretty bad ass, rap is not usually my cup of tea, but I like the rhymes, the lyrics are thought out, humorous and easy to understand. My favorite line: "I'm a colicky child, a tad hyperbolic with the frolicky mind of a future alcoholic." Sounds like a kid I know...

Idiosyncope
I love your singer's voice, it has a Dolores O'Riordan quality to it, great range. Over all a good song, I like the bass guitar in particular, however, I did not care for the beat changes and the words were hard to understand. Good tune though, change the words and put it on a demo somewhere.

Backwards
This felt like the beginning of something I would want to hear and then it ends. It's a build build build... then done. I needed a boom there. Nice start, but it needs fleshing out.

Cabbage
Personally, I like this a lot. Nice to hear  people still making original noisecore techno. My buddy Eric, our singer/guitarist would probably not care for this, but I found it infectious and kinda fun to dance to, reminds me of hanging out in the back rooms of underground raves in the mid-90's. However, not sure if it fits a song writing contest where lyrics are relatively valued. Awesome song though.

Bootlegged
I don't know what to make of this. Lemme begin by saying you need to stay the same distance from the mic at all times, maybe try to record the guitar and vocals separately to have better control over levels? Also, you have some issues with timing and pitch to take care of. There are some nice ideas here, but none of them are fleshed out enough to call this a song. You sound young, you will write hundreds of songs, each one better than the last. Stick to it. I hope you prefer to receive constructive criticism to being coddled, I know that I would much rather hear things that will help me as opposed to meaningless compliments.

Lalabrookie
Not a bad tune, made me a little depressed, which is what I guess you were going for. I know someone hurt you girl. Someone hurt you real bad... Seriously though, the song is pretty good, the finger drums are distracting though. 

Derictello
Time commitments for Eric and myself forced us to record and mix it in just a couple of hours, so it is not perfect, but still pretty well done. Dean is also currently deployed, so we did not have his input. The simple instrumental was a conscious choice as we thought the lyrics should stand out and carry the song. Simple rhymes for a simple theme. And honestly, I don't hear the "offness" of the hats, but so be it. Maybe because it is a triple hit is sounds a little off? And one last thing, Derictello does not have a twitter account, but we do have a little following for our normal band (not named Derictello), and if that translates into votes, great.

Votes go to Derictello, Fitzroy, Ross, Hunky and Ideosyncope.

[lalabrookie]

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry...didn't mean to depress you Codaflux haha I was going for beautiful and mysterious, but I guess "depressing" will also work. That made me giggle )

I posted the lyrics and a quick explanation on ye olde lyrics archive

BTW: I voted for idiosyncope (beautiful voice!), derictello (on Hoth with my lego ton ton nailed it for me!), lonlobby (very catchy), hunky (not big on rap but this was funky enough for me to enjoy it - and the colicky child line was awesome!) and backwards binoculars (very different but fun!) - all great sounds and solid songs!

[blgisonsongfight]

@Codaflux: Actually, the guitar and vocals were recorded separately... heh...
Yes, we are young. I (Bootlegged Waters, who actually writes & performs the music) am 15 (and have minimal guitar knowledge), and Dante (who does the singing) is only 12. Unfortunately, Dante isn't very patient when it comes to... well, anything, so I figured if I told him, "No, that's too quiet/off beat/etc." he'd eventually get mad and leave. Trust me, if you knew him, you'd get it. Also unfortunate is the fact that I take constructive criticism great, but Dante... not so much. He says he's not going to do Songfight anymore, so I guess I'm on my own for the next few weeks, and I can't sing for crap. Anyhow. I thank everyone for the reviews, and will try to work on it-everything-for next week, although I have some severe writer's block with this whole "Disco Tony" thing...

[signboy]

dude, I totally sympathize with your singer woes.
But in all honesty, have a go and keep trying. it WILL
get better.