The Italian guy from friends cast to play Tootsie (btchd up)

[Billy's Little Trip]

Couldn't fit La Cage aux Folles, so Tootsie it is.
Joey's All Bitched Up reviews.

[chocolatechips]

Under 20 this time around, doesn't look quite as imposing.

[codywalkerjr]

So far I really love every submission this week. Great fight!

Balance Lost Awesome! Reminds me of my middle school days, I'll give it a vote!


Billy and the Psychotics Voice sounds extremely sexy in this song . plenty of attitude and energy by the Psycotics. Well performed. Vote


Bombernaughts
This kind of reminds me of the club music from the early 90's college movies. Its really well done though. Very catchy melodies going on here. Holy Shit its 26 minutes long. Just for that I think I'll give you a vote.


Chocolate Chips
Your music makes me happy so I'll vote. I love the uke, Confident, up front vocals are nice to hear great keyboard solo. Vote


Cody Walker Jr.


Finding Nemoy
Finding Nemoy, My daughter loves that movie. I cried in that one part when Dorie was acting all crazy and stuff. You know what part i'm talking about..OK the production isnt excellent but its pretty good, however I beleive you have a great song here. I think the vocals need some verb to smooth it out. some parts of the lyrics are genius and some parts (Like the dirty little slut part) not so good. Still gonna give you a vote too.


glennny Drums or Drum machine? electric drums. Very interesting syncopated pattern. Bass is really moving the song along. nice nylon string guitar in there (I think) I love when you sing with the solo. Vote!


Gregg BoethinSlightly different than last weeks. A little more grit. I can imagine you in a cowboy hat, driving a Teal/white 86 ford f-150 down a dusty road. I think the rhythm guitars sound muddy.
I think the distorted guitar should be brought down a bit. still a good song. chorus is great .Vote.


G.U.N.S.Vocals sound Far Away! Cant hear them at all in intro. .. musicianship is good. song moves along very well withough becoming repetitive. Awesome cock rock guitar solo over the Electronica!vote.


The Hiss Brothers
Guitar sounds a bit muddy in intro. Drums sloppily follow in. c'mon drummer.your just a hair behind. keeping this song from gaining momentum. Vocals sound pretty good with some bad phrasing here and there. (I'm guilty of the same thing)
not a big fan of punk rock music.


KlownholeInteresting intro, I feel like I got lost for a minute. very dark sounding. Vocal effect (The reverse backup vox?) sunds really good. how do you do that? song seems unorganized and cluttered but somehow keeps it together. Maybe the drums and bass doing that. Vote


Paco del StinkoExcellet musicianship as usual . Well played and though out. Vocals up front and clear. guitar work is flawless. Vote


Psychic Soup
this is a fun tune. i can hear you saying JABU through the vocoder but still not a 'song' in my opinion. Having to create a stroy around the strange title is part of the challenge. good song, no vote from me though


Public PorkingBand name is funny, What the heck did you use to record this? A webcam mic? anyway its pretty good from the audible parts that i can hear but the production value of this song is poor. no vote from me.


What Tribe mix is lacking some important high frequencies IMO.. sounds muddy. I'll put that aside and give it a good listen..the verses are good and the chorus seems like a big let dwn for me. the falsetto man or masculine female singing backups should bew puched far back in the mix. music is good though. Actually sounds like you are good players just need to spend more time on getting a clearer recording


WreckdoM this has a fun beat at first that makes me want to tap my foot but it seems to lose momentum with the pauses and the wicky wicky wow record scratch parts. Lyrics are funny to listen to as i like to drink at work too Production is good. Vocals sound clear. What kind of Mic/Pre are you using? I am a big fan of verb and I feel that these vocals need a bit of it to smooth it out and add depth...Vote

[Thanks For The Frisbee]

(Like the dirty little slut part) not so good.

Thanks for voting for Finding Nemoy!

That line almost HAD to be in there to tell the story. Thanks for the feedback! and so quickly too!

[hillbilly]

Wow Billy- did you download those licks awl sum. DJ great job all so,(vote)

[glennny]

BALANCE LOST!

Pete! that last 35 seconds is one of the best things I've heard in a long time! Soooooo good!

great fight everyone! no duds, lots of gems!

BTW everyone there is a VERY good BSS tune (I did not play on it, but I got to hear the progress), that everyone thought someone else was going to submit.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Wow Billy- did you download those licks awl sum. DJ great job all so,(vote)

lol, no. Unfortunately Paco was out of town with his girl the past week, so i had to fill in with my slow hand lickity splits. And I agree, Dee rocked the f**k out of it! Thanks Bill Hlly

And thanks, Cody.

Yes, good songs this week! I've listened a couple times. I will review this bunch.

[codywalkerjr]

[

And thanks, Cody.

.

[codywalkerjr]

(Like the dirty little slut part) not so good.

Thanks for voting for Finding Nemoy!

That line almost HAD to be in there to tell the story. Thanks for the feedback! and so quickly too!

Listening to the song only 2x I probably missed the big picture, certain phrases popped out at me, overall I enjoyed your song ,thanks

[hillbilly]

Glenny----- I love that guitar intro. Very tastefull.

[publicporking]

Balance Lost
punk nostalgia. fun outro.

Billy and the Psychotics
this is great.

Bombernaughts
holy shit the playlist thinks this song is 26 minutes long! wait, is it? it feels like it. uggg

Chocolate Chips
omg i love this. the delivery is amazing. the chord change is choice. just short enough.

Cody Walker Jr.
not really connecting for me. the country tune is a standard and seems fine. but the lyrics just seem to be plopped on top hapahazardly.

Finding Nemoy
the guitar noodling towards the end is unnecessary. maybe cut back some of the doubletracking on the vocals.

glennny
i love the bass and guitar performances.

Gregg Boethin
this made me laugh a little

G.U.N.S.
this didn't make me laugh at all

The Hiss Brothers
phrasing needs a lot of work. too many words in some places. not enough melody.

Klownhole
did you say 'chode'? i love the fuzz bass and the drums. i like the swirly vocal effects.

Paco del Stinko
great solo! not really the title, though, but it's ok

Psychic Soup
when this came on, both my dogs left the room. dance music that clears the floor is pretty much bad by definition. the melody is pretty nice, though. reminds me of a bit of ymo.

Public Porking
i have some excuses to make. i debated on whether to submit this for obvious reasons. this was a few hours of me getting familiar with a shared rehearsal space i just gained access to. i had just a shitty kick drum dynamic mic and was dealing with manual synchronization issues with my audio interface. i also had to learn drums. so anyway. sorry if this annoyed you. hoping it will get better.

What Tribe
what is the bass player doing at the end? interesting choice with the falsetto.

WreckdoM
i love the way you said "what's hap-pen-in". delay fx sound is great. is that eugene mirman? i lost track of the story but i get you eat taco bell and have a rash. i like this song. you guys are hams.

[hillbilly]

Quote BLT--- ( Unfortunately Paco was out of town with his girl the past week). You have got to be kidding me. Stink happy spoon'n. There must be someone for everyone.

[chocolatechips]

My four favorites get votes / green faces:

Balance Lost

+ Has a bit of a Modest Mouse meets Blink 182 sound.
+ Instrumental bit is pretty cool. I like the keys there, unexpected.
- Vocals are the weakest part of the song. Not much of a melody to hold onto.

Berkeley Social Scene

+ Really nice production. Everything is clear in its own space but it still has some warmth and personality to it.
+ I really like the synth solo section.
+ Nice guitar riffs.
- I'm not crazy about the vocals, but they're not bad. I have a feeling they might grow on me if I listened to it a lot.

Billy and the Psychotics

- Not crazy about the guitar tones or the panning choices. I prefer the BSS guitar tone/mix approach heard in the song above.
+ Vocals are good, remind me of Gwen Stefani.

Bombernaughts

- Bit generic sounding.
- Fuzzy sounding production doesn't really fit the style. The mix needs more clarity.
- Way too long.

Cody Walker Jr

+ The sound reminds me of early '70s Rolling Stones acoustic #s.
+ Maybe not as pro sounding as your efforts usually are, but I like the style.

Finding Nemoy

+ Quirky vocals with some nice melodies.
+ The lyrics catch my interest, that's a rare thing for me on a first listen. Nice.
+ Lots of personality in this one, I like it.

Glennny

+ Jazzy. I'm impressed by the instrumental playing on this track. Dig the bass and the drums (programmed or played?)
+ I like the strained vocal delivery, it seems to work with this song.
+ The solo reminds me a bit of Frank Zappa.

Gregg Boethin

- I think there could be more clarity in the mix.
- For some reason I can't get into this one. Not exactly constructive criticism there. Sometimes it's hard to say exactly why something doesn't connect.

GUNS

- Poor mix. Needs vocals much louder. Nothing is clear.
- The various sounds don't really fit together. I realize this is on purpose but I just don't think it works.
- Melody is weak.
+ My favorite part (by far) is the guitar solo. You almost capture a Pink Floyd type feel there. Nice.

The Hiss Brothers

- Vocals could be up a bit.
~ Not bad for this type of garage rock thing, but not particularly memorable.
+ Best part is the guitar solo. (Second song in a row where that's the case.)

Klownhole

+ Do you like The Butthole Surfers? I do sometimes, but I have to be in the right mood.
+ Bit of a crazy mix but it fits the style. For as nuts as it is, it holds together pretty nicely.
+ Some nice trippy guitar lines.
- It's probably be better if you tightened the whole thing up a bit, but at the same time I get that this barely contained madness is what you're going for. It's not really my preferred style so it's hard for me to say whether you're going too far or not far enough. Or maybe you've nailed it and I just don't know.
- There are some clunky bits that come every once in awhile that really sound like mixing errors rather than a part of the production - they take the listener out of the experience.

Paco del Stinko

+ I like the vocals up front like this.
+ Cool vocal harmonies.
+ Great synth breaks.
+ Production / mix = excellent.
+ I think this is my favorite song I've heard from you guys (or is it just one dude? I'm not sure) Well done.
+ Guitar solos kind of remind me of Steely Dan.

Psychic Soup

- Too repetitive for my current mood. I realize this style of music is meant to be rather repetitive (I actually really like Kraftwerk from time to time and they sound like the big influence here) ... but I'm not really feeling it. It just doesn't draw me in. For repetition to work you really need some killer lines I think.

Public Porking

- Crap recording / mix, but you probably know that.
+ Good vocals (especially considering how poorly they are recorded.)
+ There's some really catchy bits in here (both vocally and in the instrumental parts.)
+ With a bit better recording it'd probably make it in my top four (and get a vote.)

What Tribe

- Bit dreary, particularly after the catchy Public Porking track.
- Vocals aren't clear enough in the mix.
- Too repetitive. Too long.
+ I like the David Bowie type feel you come close to achieving (except for the messy mix) in the chorus.

WreckdoM

+ Some bits in the backing track reminds me of early '90s rap which is kind of nice.
- There's so much going on at once, it's an over stimulation thing. Probably not good that you guys are the 16th track, because it's a lot to try to take in after the first 15 songs!

[codywalkerjr]

Cody Walker Jr.
not really connecting for me. the country tune is a standard and seems fine. but the lyrics just seem to be plopped on top hapahazardly.

.

You are absolutely right, this is definately my worst songfight submission yet, just wanted to submit something

[codywalkerjr]

Cody Walker Jr

+ The sound reminds me of early '70s Rolling Stones acoustic #s.
+ Maybe not as pro sounding as your efforts usually are, but I like the style.
!

thanks for being easy on me. the lyrices are a bit slopped together. i only had a few hours this week to get this one done.

hopefully this week we'll get an easier title LOL

[Paco Del Stinko]

Thanks for the comments people. Keep'em coming! I will get mine up, hopefully with constructive criticisms, sooner than I did for the last fight.

Replies: Thanks for the vote, Cody!

It is indeed only me, not other people involved in the Stink. I do vocals out of necessity, not necessarily desire. As bad as my voice/singing may be, it's a lot better than it used to be.

As I typed and posted lyrics, I realized that I had the title wrong. I am going to hide under the 'inspired by the title' banner and beg forgiveness for my stupididity.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy and the Psychotics

- Not crazy about the guitar tones or the panning choices. I prefer the BSS guitar tone/mix approach heard in the song above.
+ Vocals are good, remind me of Gwen Stefani.

Yeah, BSS (Ken I believe mixing) does a nice job. Nice warm mixes out of a sterile environment. Although, and I've said this before, I wish he'd widen the drums out to match the panned guitars. The kick and snare are fine, but the entire kit is squeezed between the rest of the mix. Cymbals, toms, hi-hat, rolls. It gives me an uneasy feeling. And it makes the rhythm guitars sound like they're panned off the stage by themselves. I'm all for good separation, but there is a limit, lol. I just think their mixes would benefit greatly with the drums filling up the stage more. Ha, here I am reviewing BSS in response to you reviewing me, lol.
Thanks for the listen and review, CC. I liked your tune. I'll get some reviews done too.

[chocolatechips]

Billy and the Psychotics

Although, and I've said this before, I wish he'd widen the drums out to match the panned guitars. The kick and snare are fine, but the entire kit is squeezed between the rest of the mix. Cymbals, toms, hi-hat, rolls. It gives me an uneasy feeling.

Interesting; I'm actually a big fan of mono drums maybe that's because my favorite music (if I had to pick just one type of favorite music) is '60s rock and that's how they mixed drums back then. To me when you have the drums panned all over the place it gives more attention to the drums than they really deserve (in most cases.) It just feels like overproduction to me. It reminds me of '80s cock rock (one of my least favorite types of music.)

I really think this is just a matter of taste... I like the wide separation of the guitars with the mono drums... I mean I can get what you're saying, I'm just saying; I disagree

I'd be curious to see what the BSS folks say about this debate? I assume they are doing what they are doing with the drum mixing on purpose... maybe for reasons similar to why I do it (although my drums are all programmed for now... I am learning to play drums, but I'm not good enough yet to use my playing on my recordings.)

[hillbilly]

Enjoyed this weeks fight.My votes go to Billy and DJ (killer bass, DJ great vocals) 2nd vote goes to Joey (for spanking the monkey, with his one good hand).

[Billy's Little Trip]

Billy and the Psychotics

Although, and I've said this before, I wish he'd widen the drums out to match the panned guitars. The kick and snare are fine, but the entire kit is squeezed between the rest of the mix. Cymbals, toms, hi-hat, rolls. It gives me an uneasy feeling.

Interesting; I'm actually a big fan of mono drums maybe that's because my favorite music (if I had to pick just one type of favorite music) is '60s rock and that's how they mixed drums back then. To me when you have the drums panned all over the place it gives more attention to the drums than they really deserve (in most cases.) It just feels like overproduction to me. It reminds me of '80s cock rock (one of my least favorite types of music.)

I really think this is just a matter of taste... I like the wide separation of the guitars with the mono drums... I mean I can get what you're saying, I'm just saying; I disagree

I'd be curious to see what the BSS folks say about this debate? I assume they are doing what they are doing with the drum mixing on purpose... maybe for reasons similar to why I do it (although my drums are all programmed for now... I am learning to play drums, but I'm not good enough yet to use my playing on my recordings.)

You're right, it is a matter of era I think. People with different tastes

And yes, knowing Ken, it's exactly how he likes it or he wouldn't do it. He's pretty technical. But so am I, thanks to him. Cheers to independent thinking.

I look at it like this. In an acoustic session, the cymbals and toms are angled and sound waves project in the direction they are angled. Acoustically and naturally, a drum kit is wide in sound.
In a now-a-day situation. Everything is mic'd on staged and running through a PA. Now the width of everything is pretty much matched. I don't play live very much anymore. But I have a son with a band and a nephew I go see often. From a spectators listening point, it's mostly PA house sound these days. Low frequencies are non directional, but the mids and highs are right and left. When I mix, I want the reproduction to sound the way I see everyone on the stage playing. In my imaginary stage, drums fill the stage.

I wonder if Albini and Vig have debates about this? Because they mix their stages so different. I admire both immensely!

[glennny]

Sounds like the classic Beatles vs Beach Boys debate.

[Thanks For The Frisbee]

Sounds like the classic Beatles vs Beach Boys debate.

Now that is a cage match i would like to see!