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We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:59 am
by ken
Let's review each other!

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:26 am
by glennny
John Ken and Sam! Wow! that's a good song! Excellent playing guys!

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 12:25 pm
by Jim of Seattle
Plasters – I don’t like your vocal styles. You don’t sound like you are into it. There’s a certain “we think we suck so let’s not try too hard” vibe that turns me off. Song kind of not so interesting either.

Gooey Caramel Centaur – Nice lyrics. Hard to understand them sometimes. This is a nice heartfelt demo.

Glennny – I like the density of ideas going on in the band, but the vocal doesn’t sonically blend well enough for me. I like this though, reminds me of the 60’s band Love a little bit. I think you’ve got something here if you record the vocal with the same care you put into everything else in the song. Also, the craziness and dissonance in the arrangement is really cool, but after a while it starts to grow tiresome for me. I wish you had more of an overriding sense of purpose to these arrangements. As it is it sounds a little too grab-baggy to me.

Berkeley Social Scene – Kinda catchy.

Balance Lost – My favorite so far. I think there’s too much buzzy high end in that synth patch, but this it’s got that pretty Maj 7 chord in the chorus that I like and a fun groove. Not sure the acoustic play out is needed, doesn’t really add anything.

Billy and the Psychotics – Nice enough, no complaints

Ken’s SDBaS – Also a favorite. I can hear this chorus going on a lot longer. This would be fun to cover.

HATE Noise – Super cool. Combative hip hop machismo is such a huge turn off for me, but I gotta hand it to you, this is cool, that is when you’re not wasting my time telling me how great you are.

Paco del Stinko – I love this one. Definite vote. Kind of loses the energy in the little quiet part near the end. Love the organ choice.

DJ Andrew J – Sorry, doesn’t do it for me. I don’t really believe anything you’re saying, and it doesn’t groove enough.

Public Porking – Sorta cool, vocals weak and too quiet

Bombernaughts – I appreciate that this is something different. The arrangement is too mushy, consisting of only “soft” colors. I’m not saying you need drums in there, but something more percussive would help a lot. All the instruments you chose mush together in the lower midrange, and they kind of start at the beginning and never let up or change. Sounds like you wrote a nice set of lyrics and a varied melody, but only about 5 seconds of accompaniment to go with it, which you just repeat over and over.

Schizophonics – Not my thing, so my opinion doesn’t count. It’s ok I think.

Hillbilly – OK, don’t get it

Mojoville Allstars – Song 1: Nice mellow vibe. I like the singer’s voice a lot. Song 2: Fine example of blues rock, perhaps a bit wordy for the style, but so what. Altogether: This is two songs, why did they get put on the same track? Is it an ironic statement about how they don’t sound like each other at all? If so, that’s a funny idea, but since I have to ask, maybe it doesn’t play as well as you hoped?

John and Ken and Sam – Perfectly competent, catchy, well-performed. Good job. I don’t think I’ll remember it much more than 5 minutes from now, but it’s good.

Chocolate Chips – The vocal effect is too distracting

Votes for Gooey Caramel Centaur, Balance Lost, Ken’s SDBaS, HATE Noise, Paco del Stinko, John and Ken and Sam

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:27 pm
by furrypedro
Jim of Seattle wrote:Balance Lost – ...Not sure the acoustic play out is needed, doesn’t really add anything.
You're absolutely right. It's a total indulgence*. I was gonna put a disclaimer in once the fight was posted saying that listeners should skip my track from 3.20 onwards (unless you like finger-pickery) but you beat me to it.
*That end bit was the original music I wrote for the fight and then after playing around with the chords I ended up with what turned into the main song so I added it as much for posterity as out of self-indulgence. Consider this the "album version". Thanks for the vote though dude!

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:35 pm
by chocolatechips
Jim of Seattle wrote:Chocolate Chips – The vocal effect is too distracting
Agreed. I sort of threw my hands up on this one after working on it for a long time, ended up making a bit of a mess out of it with my fx experimentation.

~~~

Reviews coming...

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:52 pm
by ken
Balance Lost
Way to start this fight with the beat from Footloose. Or is it a Culture Club jam? I guess either way, you start off pretty 80s. Vocals are a little buried in the first verse, then get a little better in the chorus when a double kicks in. Doubled vox are a little too loose for me. I like when the guitars kick in around 2:30. Interesting change at 3:30, but it just seems like a long outro that doesn't bring much closure. You probably should have just cut this part.

Berkeley Social Scene
Nice to have Glennny and Martyr back together in this track. I think it ended up a little loose and maybe a little crowded, but overall, a pretty good BSS song.

Billy and the Psychotics
Here we go. Love the energy of this track. I wish the chorus lifted the song up, but it just stays kind of flat. I think the potential is there, but the choice of a lower harmony vocal just seems to subtract rather than add.

Bombernaughts
You have a very nice voice. The simple pads are a good vehicle for it. Do I hear a piano playing the vocal melody? Maybe you can leave that part out next time. I like that this track develops. It starts to sound kind of gothy. Doesn't really go anywhere though. Good effort!

The Chocolate Chips
Interesting collection of sounds you've assembled. Kind of reminds me of a Beck track for some reason. I like the combination of hand claps and vocoder, but the vocals are hard to understand, so maybe a lighter touch on the vocoder next time. I wish this track went somewhere, because I just kind of tuned out after a while.

DJ Andrew J
Too much reverb on the vocals. It sounds like you tracked them in the bathroom or something. Overall vocal level is just a little low for me compared to the drum machine. The hook on this song isn't very hooky and the repetitive drum beat just kind of bores me. This isn't really bad, so I hope you keep at it.

glennny
There is a heavy Doors influence on this track. I like those parts. Sometimes the parts just seem stuck together to me. Especially the mandatory Glennny gamelan. I like the little ending.

Gooey Caramel Centaur
For me, this takes a while to develop, but I like the line, "We sounds like each other, but we're both playing different tracks."

The HATE Noise (featuring DankStarr)
I don't really care for Kid Rock, and this strikes me as coming from somewhere in the realm of Kid Rock meets ICP, not really my thing. It's a pretty good mishmash of parts though.

hillbilly
You sound little like King Arthur on this track. This sounds like a band warming up before they start recording. I wish I could hear an actual take of this song instead.

John and Ken and Sam
It has been fun seeing JB when he is in CA for work stuff. This time we actually had a bit of time to hang out again. He and Sam wrote this song. I just added drums, melodica, and handclaps. A fun tune that I think sounds like a combination of the people involved.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
I wrote this on ukulele one afternoon, and wasn't really sure what to do with it. It took a while to build up to the Mumford and Sons inspired arrangement. Probably should have been a few bpm faster. The bass is actually my favorite part.

The Mojoville Allstars
Awesome, another good lady vocalist! The mix on this song is hard to enjoy. The vocals are too loud, the drums are the next loudest element, and then everything else is almost impossible to hear. I think this would have been a contender if mixed better. Hrm, then you add a ZZ Top song as well? Are these the same song? Is that the thing? Sadly, I already forgot the first part, so who knows... Too much soloing at the end. I think I would have cut the first song, stuck with the second and faded out A LOT sooner.

Paco del Stinko
This is what I think of when I think of Paco del Stinko. Lots of good stuff happening in this song.

the plasters
Your song reminds me of what songs sounded like on Songfight 10 years ago, when digital recording at home was still kind of new. Vocals are really loud compared to the rest of the track. Fun ditty though!

Public Porking
Is the cymbal crash on a different track than the snare? Is this real drums at all? Sorry to focus on this, but it is hard to hear the vocals when there is a constant cymbal crashing in my ear. I like the guitar tone. Is there any bass in this track? OMG - tell the cymbal player to take a break already. Wow. Too much cymbal. I think I would like this song more with just guitar and vocals. At least that way I could hear the song.

Schizophonics
This sounds pro. You make some good rhymes. Four minutes might be a little long for this track.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 2:19 pm
by publicporking
Balance Lost
not as good as your previous entry. i like the non-merican accent. first keyboard melody in the bridge is great. the louder one that comes in at 2:25 is obnoxious. oh! this acoustic tag-on is awesome.

Berkeley Social Scene
the snarly backup voice in the second verse cements my decision to not like this song on any level. ok well the solo at 2:16 has a killer tone. fake drummers are real bummers.

Billy and the Psychotics
this is goodness. this is gracious. goodness gracious this grace is good. dead harmony/melody in the chorus, though.

Bombernaughts
you have a strong voice. the song didn't hit me at first but towards the end when you stack the voices it starts to hit.

The Chocolate Chips
some people are terrified of clowns. i don't like certain types of vocal synthesis. it seems like maybe you had a good song and a bad vocal take so you threw the effect on it.

DJ Andrew J
way off beat.

glennny
this is a bit unfortunate. so much went into the accompaniment and the vocal just sounds like karaoke.

Gooey Caramel Centaur
great name! and a good song. sounds genuine. i bet with a lot of practice in front of an audience this could become a standard. nice rhyme schemes. the last chorus had a nice twist to it. VOTE

The HATE Noise (featuring DankStarr)
this is ill. '98 style. who's scratching? second MC has a few bum beats. VOTE

hillbilly
i love this kind of recording. loose, fun, beautiful, and harsh in a good way. the tune may be a forgetabble collection of 7th chords but the listening experience made me fall in love with you. VOTE

John and Ken and Sam
it's a little messy in parts, but it's hard to complain about a song as well arranged as this. bonus points for the slide sound.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
it's put together nicely. but it drags in its sappiness. sappy songs call for a dynamic vocal... not your dry laconic monotone. sorry. i'm not even 100% sure if that's a word. it felt right.

The Mojoville Allstars
i like the stumbling drums. i like those guitar strums. ohhhh something's gonna happen here. ok now the drums don't really work any more. you lost me at "hey what's going on?"

Paco del Stinko
paco is kinda awesome. there was a time when alternative meant boingo and b-52s and devo. i love that spirit. nice solo. VOTE

the plasters
this would be a good one for another artist to cover. it's a problematic recording of a good fun little tune.

Public Porking
you suck. MANDATORY SELF VOTE

Schizophonics
wow this is real deal. excellent cadence. smooth beat. chorus vocals sound too white-rap-reggae-stylee which i think is basically a universal faux pas nowadays. you're back. hackneyed talk about the 'system' doesn't seem to affect the wicked delivery. are slug and aesop rock big influences? VOTE

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 2:34 pm
by publicporking
ken wrote:Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
I wrote this on ukulele one afternoon, and wasn't really sure what to do with it. It took a while to build up to the Mumford and Sons inspired arrangement. Probably should have been a few bpm faster. The bass is actually my favorite part.

Public Porking
Is the cymbal crash on a different track than the snare? Is this real drums at all? Sorry to focus on this, but it is hard to hear the vocals when there is a constant cymbal crashing in my ear. I like the guitar tone. Is there any bass in this track? OMG - tell the cymbal player to take a break already. Wow. Too much cymbal. I think I would like this song more with just guitar and vocals. At least that way I could hear the song.


the drums were all recorded live in the room with a shitty digital portastudio's shitty built in stereo microphones. i could definitely lay off the crash. i should use more of the fun parts of the kit. sorry no time for a proper vocal take or mixing. i submitted the song at 10:06 am and i mis-remembered the title as "we all sound the same", so i was secretly hoping i would have been disqualified.

the bass performance on your track is excellent. i hadn't noticed on first listen.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:37 pm
by hillbilly
Porking---- i was looser than my play'n, glad you enjoyed and welcome from North Carolina.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:16 pm
by hillbilly
Most Time i don't care for Rap, must confess I am a nerd rap fan ( Schizophonics) good job,vote, killer recording, familiar voice.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 7:45 am
by Paco Del Stinko
Thanks for the reviews so far, people. Keep'em coming! I am back from vaction and listening to the songs again. I will post comments in a day or so. Cheers!

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:57 am
by Schizophonics
thanks for the kind words and constructive criticism, guys. nice to know we're not here to slaughter each other.

that being said...

Balance Lost - great production, but the crispness of the acoustic gets a little distracting. a little tweaking on the vocal processing and that classic 80's style could shine a little more. love the bass tone. breakdown was a touch sloppy, but nicely timed. i totally get self-indulgence, so that guitar outro actually saved this song for me (i say saved because that new-wave sound never appealed to me. ever. and, who the fuck am i?)

Berkeley Social Scene - i had to fight to listen to the vocals on this track. i could nitpick the sour notes, but this is more just an issue of taste. i really wish the mixing would've brought the vocals and the music into at least the same ballpark with each other. almost sounds like they were processed separately, then thrown together. the ending was pretty cool, but it was a struggle for me to get there.

Billy and the Psychotics - love the guitar tone. this track makes me feel like i'm at a bar trying to pick up girls at a pool table, and failing. excellent drum work and production. really hits you in the balls at the intro. the chorus kinda takes all the drive away from the overall motion, but that tasty guitar solo picked it right back up.

Bombernaughts - ha, my ear wants to hear this over some serious black metal brutal-ness. as is, i find it very interesting. curious to know what a live show would be like. i would have liked to hear more range in the spread of the vocals. maybe some creative panning, as well. definitely feeling the need for a percussive element for at least a small section, but i really dig the arrangement.

The Chocolate Chips - oh man, a different approach to the vocals on this track could've made this a great contemporary acoustic piece. i think i get said approach, though. definitely interested to see where more experimentation takes these guys. musically, i love this track. great synth work, the guitar sounds excellent, the gated pad placement really spiced things up.

DJ Andrew J - i'd like to start by saying that i am not here to hate on anybody. at all. i listened to each of these tracks from start to finish because i appreciate the effort that goes into making a song, and i really dig the idea behind this site. that said, this was the hardest song to get through. i was digging on the old school drum beat, the bass tone and grooves were definitely cool, and i'll always have a soft spot in my heart for that basement sound. but, everybody can't be a rapper. "white guy voice" doesn't always leave you dead in the water, but i need at least a little rhythm. the chorus needs some serious pitch correction. i really liked the harsh juxtaposition between the verse and chorus, though. cool idea.

Glenny - the opening drums and upright bass hooked me in pretty quick. even the early 90s synth strings made me smile. the vocals took some time to adjust to, but they grew on me. the percussive groove and acoustic guitar work is absolutely great. "audio doppelgänger" = YES!! hahahahaha!!! very cool breakdown. this song progresses very well with excellent use of subtlety, though i can see some impatient listeners sitting in wait for the next track. nice work.

Gooey Caramel Centaur - cool name. this is pretty far outside of my range as far as taste goes, but i'm pretty sure this track will dampen some panties. i almost want to say that its a little wordy but, the more i listened, the more i came to enjoy the way the lyrics were squeezed in. "we may sound like each other, but we're both playing different tracks" -very cool.

The HATE Noise - personally, i look for more than shit talking when it comes to hip hop. its too easy, if we're being honest. and it doesn't quite work with the rapper's voice. i'm hearing a lot of Movies for the Blind-era Cage in the beat, which is pretty cool if not a little overdone. solid, dirty production will always make me bob my head, though. the transitions and breaks made this track worth listening to. well done.

Hillbilly - i could sit in a circle and listen to cats play this kinda stuff all day. and that’s the feel that i got from this track. excellent guitar work. the harmonica was a little loud in the mix, but definitely a strong choice. the singer's voice is great, but i'd love to hear more boosting in the mid-bass range to bring out the grit.

John and Ken and Sam - that everclear-ish acoustic opening brought back some memories. given that association, i wasn't ready for that locomotive drum line and it kinda threw me off. but, i can dig that allman brothers sound, even if it bores me after a little while. i liked the mix of the synth lead and the slide guitar, given those are usually sounds that deter me except in specific situations. the guitar solo was tasty, but left a little to be desired when trading off with the synth harmonica. the half time break was cool, too.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - the acoustic guitar sounds really good. nice and big. but this style of music, as with the last track, just doesn't keep my attention. i like the use of the bells, the banjo was placed well in the mix, the drive was sustained well, the vocal harmonies were nice. nothing terrible, nothing great.

The Mojoville Allstars - i'm not huge on ballads, but the guitar tones on this track are really great. same with the organ. its the vocals on this track that really got me. i'm a serious sucker for sultry female vocals in the lower range. and whoever produced this track really brought that out. excellent job. the transition was a great idea, but i was disappointed that the singer was different. dude wails on that harmonica, though. hells yeah. cut a rug, ya'll.

Paco del Stinko - hahaha, yes! i love this track! excellent guitar work and tone, and that organ kept me smiling the whole time. the breakdown was wicked, but coming out of it was a little rough. i wouldn't be surprised if this was due to a time constraint. all around fun track, and my favorite for this fight. very well done.

The Plasters - again, i don't want to hate on anybody, but this was insanely difficult to listen to, strictly because of the auto tuning. if this is a serious project, i'd be interested to see where these guys are in a few years.

Public Porking - the guitar work and tone is great but, bring those vocals up! given the way the vocals were approached, if they were mixed a little louder, it really would've strengthened the groove overall. same with the drums. a little compression goes a long way.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:07 pm
by hillbilly
Billy--you piss me off, with that killer bass, can you act. fondel a bass that well? or that a bass backing?

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:35 pm
by the plasters
the highlights in this fight for me were (without getting into specifics):

Schizophonics-Really solid song. I'd listen to this song outside of songfight any day. I do think it could have been shortened but I think most songs over 2 minutes are too long.

John and Ken and Sam-great listen due to the vocals. When they started I thought of the Mountain Goats and that made me happy.

balance lost-I liked just about everything in this song.

as for the plasters, I think I'll stick with recording on my crummy analog 4-track, playing real drums and not put too much more effort into garageband.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 7:48 pm
by jb
Holy shit, Schizophonics! Where the fuck did you come from?

Gooooooooooooooood x 10!

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:18 pm
by hillbilly
that aint your avarage white boy

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:20 am
by Billy's Little Trip
hillbilly wrote:Billy--you piss me off, with that killer bass, can you act. fondel a bass that well? or that a bass backing?
I could act in a Harmony Korine movie, because all I'd have to do is wear dirty bunny ears and never smile. I can totally do that. As far as the killer bass, thank you. But I must confess, it just hangs on the wall and I push a button on it and it flaps it's tail and sings "take me to the river" ....it's really really, really, really, really funny.

@reviewers. Thanks for the reviews guys. So far, the consensus shows that my choice with coming in under Dee's chorus vocals was too much of a mood kill/change. I'm always trying to do different things that feel right. Some work and in this case, some don't. I don't dislike it, but I get what is being said. In Ken's words, "it takes away rather than adds". The contrast is too different from the songs driving intentions. Which was in fact my intention, but in this case, peanut butter and mustard isn't on anyone's bucket list. ;)

@Schizo. You were right dude, I am not disappointed. Welcome to Song Love.

@everyone. I really liked all the songs this title. I clearly heard what everyone was shooting for in their songs, which shows creative expression. Imperfections can always be worked out by Albini when it goes on the B-side of your hit single. :D

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 9:30 am
by hillbilly
Don't hate the game, hate the mutha fuxer play'r. vote

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:35 pm
by RangerDenni
I wrote amazing reviews and then clicked something dumb and this is what happens when we Drink and do not write our reviews in a proper Program so BOO to this!!!

I shall Endeavour to reconstruct tomorrow. For now thank yall who commented for your comments on our track. I'm not super-comfy with it in many, many ways. From the writing all the way to melody and the basic construction of the Plot of it, musically. I'm fighting with the song faeries right now. BLT did what he could :)

(also thanks for comments in weeks past. I've tried to keep music coming but have been participatororially under the weather here)

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:11 am
by hillbilly
MoeJo----all sum, i dig the combination, hook me up with the good voice babe. :P

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:18 am
by hillbilly
moe ps. for than unwanted mike hiss, just download Audacity and use Noise Removal, its free.

Re: We Sound Like Each Other's Reviews

Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:12 pm
by Billymojo
hillbilly wrote:moe ps. for than unwanted mike hiss, just download Audacity and use Noise Removal, its free.
It was Liquid Mix that did it. I wanted to give it one more chance. But aside from the hiss, it's just way too unstable. And I hear there's no longer any tech support. Too bad. I loved that thing. But good news. I just ordered UAD-2. Now I just gotta control myself and not bust the bank on plugins or were talkin' D-I-V-O-R-C-E!