Review A Little Bit More (Love Me reviews)

[ujnhunter]

Okay... I listened to all the songs... (some I regret... others I'm very pleased with.) I'm not doing full reviews because I just don't have it in me... but here are the standouts to me:

deetak: I really dig your voice... and I like piano... I wish you got rid of the tape hiss/noise with some noise reduction... but it's awesome none the less...

R. Mosquito: You know I always like whatever you turn out... like the others have said tho, vocals up more in the mix would rock.

SomeGuyCalledNoel: This reminded me a whole lot of a Rodney Crowell song that I dig... Earthbound... it's the guitar parts. It could be a little shorter... but I like it.

Chopped Liver Meat God: Not crazy about how it started out... but I dig how it ends up...

Heine: You said there is a german version? I'd like to hear it. I like this song.

Hostess Mostess: Nice little ditty. Reminds me of a Gregory Page kind of song. The bass seems late sometimes?

Howl Down the Chimney: I'm picturing a dark carnival evil scientist... and the fact I can see pictures in my head... I dig it.

Cabin Fever: Nice pop song... I like the 1:48-2:06 section a lot.

Durand Durand: As everyone else already said.. rad name! Nice production. I picture this being played on an outdoor stage on a nice summer day...

DuToVa: I enjoyed this, but noting really stood out... not sure I liked the keyboards.

The Hell Yeahs: I like the feeling of the song... It fits a certain style/mood... Lost reference is cool too

Maggie Kanuka: I am a sucker for simple little songs like this. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean the stripped down piano vocals...

Manhatten Glutton: This reminds me of something... but I can't put my finger on it... but it's cool.

Melvin: Nice production, like usual. I have a soft spot for strings... good stuf.

PiGPEN: I like the electro... and the Ducks! Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun... it makes me happy...

Quimby: Nice song, not sure if I like the electric guitar tho...

raisin brain: something about this makes me think of Soft Cell... SEX DWARF! That's a compliment by the way...

roymond & BLT: The mix seems a bit off (roymond said he mixed in a hurry...) I'd like to hear a version of this mixed better... because I like the song.

Melvin is God: You only get mentioned because It made me think of a creepy song were Rone is singing to Melvin in a freaky stalkerish way...

To the rest of the Rone challengers... thanks for making my listening experience unpleasant. I actually listened all the way thru...

That's all folks... if you didn't get mentioned it didn't mean I didn't like your song... unless you were part of the above mentioned challengers... keep making music.

[Billy's Little Trip]

roymond Feat. Billy's Little Trip - unique vocals. i like this a lot but i think it would rule all if it had a chorus that was completely different from the rest.

Damn it damn it damn it. I totally screwed the mix, and after BLT's great vocal and guitar contribution I feel really bad. I thought we had till Friday and had to do a quick mix and master early Wednesday to submit. So, I hear ya on this...the break should certainly go into a new space, and it's lopsided with the guitar but I really like the song and BLT's voice rocks it for me.

Dude, it's a great song and we put this together at the last minute really fast. I'll guarantee you that if we did this live on stage and I was dressed up like Dr. Frank N. Furter, it would be a HIT.

I rarely ever revisit a Song Fight song to rework it, but I really do like this song and think it has huge potential if recorded more dynamically and I spent a little more time rehearsing the vocals. I'd love to get Steve on horns and other voices on backup, some powerful drums, triangle, maybe even some keys.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Heine- So the German guy blatantly rips off the Scorpions? I usually like your stuff, but a Weird Al-ish cover of Rock You Like a Hurricane, with new lyrics is a bit offensive. It's not an exact replica, just incredibly similar riffs and structure and dynamics.

I'll take the blame for that. In another thread, he mentioned how he was from the same towns as Scorpions and I declared something like "give us a little Scorpion sting" or something equally as corny. Well, he did, and surely prompted by a thoughtless peer. For what it's worth, the cheesy guitar lead in my song was inspired by Uli Jon Roth, former Scorpions great. Nowhere near as good as that guy, he's inhuman.

Making my way through the songs and enjoying the diversity. Reviews many day s from now, however, but will do.

[rone rivendale]

I noticed a couple of people mention in reviews for Country Martrys that it's part of the Rone Rivendale cover idea.

Well, Country Martyrs IS Rone Rivendale with help from my guitar buddy from work. As I explained before we both work at a grocery store called Country Mart. I picked the name cuz the 2 of us are pretty much the only sackers there who give a damn about our jobs so we basically hold the company on our shoulders.

BTW, thank you for the reviews so far. I think when my friend sees them he will be happy enough to continue working with me on some more CM songs.

Haven't heard the songs yet but I'm off work today and tomorrow so I see no reason why I can't hear them all before I go back Sunday.

[Lunkhead]

Welcome back Carol Cleveland Sings (aka Red Skeletons). Good entry.

[glennny]

OK Heine, I'm sorry. i was on the outside of the joke. At least it's deliberate!

Now for Melvin, This is an awesome song! Incredibly beautiful! Unfortunately the recurring melody in the piano and strings reminds me of Monty Python:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPovgCP5BU

I'll do proper reviews sometime soon, sorry for the chime-ins.

[anti-m]

Welcome back Carol Cleveland Sings (aka Red Skeletons). Good entry.

I wondered about that! It IS Carol Cleveland Sings!

[Billy's Little Trip]

Well, Country Martyrs IS Rone Rivendale with help from my guitar buddy from work.

I knew it was you, but I thought, wow, Rone finally started listening to peoples advice and started playing his guitar in time, but he still insists on singing out of key, lol. I like where you're going with this new project, keep it up.

[MisterQuoons]

Well, Country Martyrs IS Rone Rivendale with help from my guitar buddy from work.

I knew it was you, but I thought, wow, Rone finally started listening to peoples advice and started playing his guitar in time, but he still insists on singing out of key, lol. I like where you're going with this new project, keep it up.

Yeah, totally. This band really has some potential. I look forward to hearing more from you guys.

[jast]

(Cue dramatic voice) The largest fight ever! Suddenly I feel a lot more comfortable with not managing to submit anything this time. Anyway, here goes. I listened to the songs in random order even though the list below is sorted; I think that's only fair in a fight that's as huge as this one. I also took a short break after reviewing the first (but random, remember) 40 songs.

To appease the people who don't get a lot of detail, I'm introducing ARS, the Arbitrary Review System. It works by giving between 0 and 3 points in each of the following categories, along with, optionally, a short explanation of each score:

• C -- composition, a reflection on the musical merits (or not) of the song
• L -- lyrics, points for genuinely witty, emotional, original lyrics (pick any two). Often not rated because I have a hard time making out lyrics in a hurry when I'm paying attention to all the other stuff.
• F -- feeling, definitely an important thing in almost any kind of song.
• P -- performance, something that can bring even mediocre songs to voteworthiness.
• M -- mix and engineering, the technical part of the song.

The overall score is an arbitrarily weighted sum of the individual scores.
Now, let's do this!

Babylon Horuv Feat. Pandamonieum and Atryom -- 3/15.
C:1 (random.), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:0, P:1, M:1

Berkshire Social Scene -- 12/15.
C:3 (plus point for 5/4. otherwise interesting, too, though I'm no fan of the many false endings), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:2-3 (something in the vocals -- backup vocals, I think -- needs work), M:3

Cabin Fever -- 12/15.
C:3, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:3, M:2 (reverb on vocals is weird; no fan of the tremolo)

The Chadderandom Abyss -- 4/15.
C:1, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:0, P:1-2, M:2

Chopped Liver Meat God -- 7/15.
C:1 (that lead guitar in the intro does get annoying, rest not too exciting), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (breaky vocals), M:2

Cobalt Stomach -- 7/15.
C:2, L:0 (not yours), F:1-2, P:2 (vocals weak in spots, backup vocals need work), M:2 (drums a bit too loud)

Cock -- 8/15.
C:1-2, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2, M:2 (I think the drums are overdoing it just a bit)

Country Martyrs -- 5/15, considering it's definitely the best I've heard from you so far.
C:1-2 (not sure because the other factors obfuscate it; rather simple arrangement, robotic drums), L:2 (a bit trite but not trying to be more than it is), F:0 (too simple to tell), P:1 (bad singing, okay guitar even if a bit too slow at times), M:1 (bass too powerful, vocals occasionally hide behind guitar)

deetak -- 12/15.
C:3, L:2, F:3, P:2 (vocal vibrato sounds wobbly), M:2 (lo-fi equipment, apparently. Handling noises. Vocals need serious de-essing.)

Durand Durand -- 14/15.
C:3 (groovy!), L:3, F:3 (groovy!), P:2 (I'm not sure if the chorus vocals are right. Some horn bits are a bit out of tune.), M:3

DuToVa -- 10/15.
C:3, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:1, P:3, M:2 (effect on vocals sucks, otherwise cool)

Embers of Autumn -- 14/15.
C:3, L:3 (good lyrics turning into great ones at the end), F:3, P:3 (sometimes not hitting the notes in vocals, but the overall vocal performance makes up for that), M:2 (slight clipping on vocals on loudest parts)

Eric Strom's Daily Song dot Com -- 8/15.
C:2 (a bit too staccato for my taste, otherwise nice), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:1 (headachy quality due to hard staccato), P:2 (vocals too weak), M:2 (vocals too weak)

Evil-E -- 9/15.
C:2 (not too exciting, except for the ring-modulated part ), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (vocals are sometimes off, drums are a bit slow), M:2 (interesting way to mix things; I'm not sure if I like it)

Heine -- 11/15.
C:2 (have I heard this before?), L:2, F:3, P:2 (drums are not on time), M:2

The Hell Yeahs -- 12/15.
C:3, L:2, F:2, P:2 (vocals on the week days are a bit weird), M:3 (even though I'm not convinced by the oldschool reverb)

Hostess Mostess -- 13/15.
C:3 (the subtle backup vocals are nice touch, though they sometimes end for no apparent reason), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:3 (the falsetto isn't that great but I can live with that, considering the rest. Great backup vocals.), M:3 (nice and clean)

Howl Down the Chimney -- 13/15.
C:2 (I'm missing some kind of musical resolution. No tension gets released all throughout the song. I guess it fits but I don't really like it.), L:3 (creepy! Also fun.), F:3 (creepy!), P:3 (very in character), M:2 (the electric organ strikes a bit hard at times, otherwise pretty great)

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set -- 7/15.
C:1 (rather generic, G&G arrangement doesn't help there), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2, M:2 (vocals sound a tad tinny)

John Kloberdanz -- 9/15.
C:2 (nothing too fancy but pleasing to the ear), L:1-2 (nothing too fancy), F:2, P:3, M:1 (WAY too much reverb, otherwise good)

Jonathan Mann -- 13/15.
C:3 (love it!), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:3, M:3 (awesome sound. I think the reverb on the vocals is too strong compared to everything else and also too bright)

Jon Eric & The Transpacific Babble Brigade -- 11/15.
C:3, L:2, F:3 (awesome sound), P:1 (vocals are a bit thin and sometimes off; minus point for using pitch correction), M:3 (awesome sound; vocals are a bit thin)

LSK -- 0/15 for delivering a song that's obnoxious in every way. Don't be such a smart-ass.

Maggie Kanuka -- 7/15.
C:2 (nothing magical in here, boring arrangement on piano), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:1, P:2 (vocals are weak but otherwise okay), M:1 (vocals are too weak, piano sounds like it was recorded in a box through a rather thick sheet of foam, piano clipping)

Manhattan Glutton -- 12/15.
C:3 (nice change at ~1:30. Otherwise at least interesting.), L:2 (from what I could make out they sounded creative), F:2, P:3, M:3

Mar la Alma -- 1/15.
C:0 (turn off the score randomizer next time), L:0 (not yours), F:0, P:0, M:1 (the effects on vocals -- reverse reverb? -- really don't make it better. Clipping.)

Max The Cat -- 13/15.
C:2 (I don't care for this type of speaky-singy song but I've heard significantly more boring ones), L:3 (the pieces that stuck out to me sounded pretty cool), F:3, P:3, M:3

McRamahamasham -- 6/15.
C:2, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:1, P:2, M:0 (vocal clipping, guitar clipping, yucky reverb on guitar, vocals too loud in beginning, bad fake backup vocals)

Melvin -- 14/15.
C:3 (verses in particular remind me of Ben Folds. Great arrangement.), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:3 (among other things, cool backup vocals!), M:3

Melvin is God -- 6/15.
C:2 (cool music/synths), L:0 (not yours), F:1, P:1, M:2 (some clipping)

Ocho del Culo -- 2/15.
C:0, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:0, P:1, M:2 (uneven panning, perhaps the guitar is a bit too strong)

Paco del Stinko -- 10/15.
C:2 (rather hectic), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2 (I don't really know what it's supposed to feel like, though), P:3 (apart from the usual, cool synths and backup vocals), M:3

The Pathetic Wannabees -- 4/15.
C:1 (move right along, nothing exciting here), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:1, P:1 (work on those vocals), M:1 (clipping, sounds noisy, A/C humming)

Pet Squirrel -- 10/15.
C:3 (mostly cool. I like the synths. Nice break.), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (give them vocals more power), M:2 (give them vocals more power)

PiGPEN -- 10/15.
C:3 (hooray for synths! Fun song, too.), L:2 (mostly for the dun-dun-dun ), F:2, P:1 (would be pretty awesome with better vocals. I think you could do better than that, really; parts of the vocals are pretty good. Plus points for going wild on vocals near the end.), M:3 (small thing: perhaps make the snare a bit louder)

Plain Songs for Doves & Tigers -- 8/15.
C:2 (some changes don't make a lot of sense to me), L:2 (creative but I'm too stupid to get them), F:1 (bitten mostly by performance, I think), P:1 (false start? Sometimes not quite hitting the notes. Singing sounds like a mediocre attempt at deliberaty overdoing some quality in it), M:1 (I don't get the background noises, vocals are obstructed by denser parts of arrangement. Also, a mouse click near the end?)

Quimby -- 12/15.
C:3 (great music, I would have loved a more detailed arrangement), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:2 (vocals slightly flat sometimes), M:2 (a bit less reverb on the vocals please, or have it decay faster)

raisin brain -- 8/15.
C:1 (cool intro! Otherwise not so exciting. Crawls along. Nice tempo change.), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (work on backup vocals in particular), M:2 (drums a tad too loud?)

Red Skeletons -- 12/15.
C:3 (fun accompaniment, cool music in general), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:2 (sounds a bit robotic in spots, but rather cool backup vocals in particular), M:3

Rik Gerblick -- 11/15.
C:2 (generally cool but a bit repetitive, perhaps make the song shorter or more variation in arrangement/structure), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:3, M:2 (especially in the chorus, vocals and guitars clash; try corrective EQing)

R. Mosquito -- 4/15.
C:2, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:0, P:2 (as far as I can tell), M:0 (WAY too saturated, I had to listen at -10 dB)

roymond Feat. Billy's Little Trip -- 9/15.
C:2, L:1-2, F:2, P:3, M:1 (the drums sound like box + cheap fake reverb. The mix is hissy and -- I think -- too dense in the middle. Is that pitch correction I hear? Eww!)

Signboy -- 11/15.
C:2, L:1 (I don't see any clear direction, really), F:3, P:2 (the vocals could be a bit more solid), M:3 (less reverb? Crunchy. Some slight clipping in vocals.)

The Sky Looks Pissed -- 6/15.
C:2, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:1, P:1 (you're overreaching on vocals, uneven dynamics in vocals, otherwise I can feel the energy), M:1 (extremely roomy, and it's not an acoustically pleasing room. Uneven dynamics in vocals.)

Slats -- 12/15.
C:2, L:3 (interesting angle), F:2, P:3 (I'll ignore the one or two places where the vocals don't quite hit the right note), M:2 (is that a flanger on the vocals? Don't like. Is that a flanger on the guitar? Meh. Anyway, you're definitely getting better at this.)

SomeGuyCalledNoel -- 11/15.
C:3, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:3, M:2 (vocals are a tad buried. It's not that hard to cut off noise at the end!)

squidbird -- 4/15.
C:1 (non-exciting implementation of genericity), L:0 (wrong fight), F:1, P:2, M:2

Steve Durand -- 12/15.
C:3, L:2 (my teeth stuck together just skimming the lyrics), F:2, P:2 (Vocals sound weak, doesn't fit the overall temper), M:3 (pan the rhythm guitar a bit less?)

Swilington -- 10/15.
C:3 (fun, nice synths), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (something, probably guitar, is out of tune. Harmonizing/vocoding isn't really all that exciting.), M:3

Todd McHatton -- 12/15.
C:3 (serious fun!), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2 (your vocals tend to be a bit, uh, strongly compressed, so it's hard to tell with them; otherwise nice), P:3 (but detuned guitar? Seriously?), M:2 (oversaturated, plosives, otherwise clean)

A Tribe Called Quoons -- 9/15.
C:2, L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (vocals frequently not on time, some sung parts are a bit off), M:3 (bass is almost a bit too strong on headphones)

The Weakest Suit -- 14/15.
C:3 (cool arrangement, entertaining), L:3 (genius. Seriously.), F:2, P:3, M:3

Wet Towel Society -- 5/15.
C:2 (not too exciting, though I like the fake chimes (?) parts), L:0 (not yours), F:1, P:1 (you're overreaching on vocals), M:2 (minus point for using bad pitch correction)

The White Hat -- 10/15.
C:2 (more accompaniment would have been great), L:2, F:2, P:2 (vocals tend to sound best in the higher parts; great playing), M:1 (was this recorded in a box? Or a badly treated room?

The Worldly Self-Assurance -- 11/15.
C:2 (great arrangement except for chorus; no other complaints), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:2 (second singer is so-so), M:3

Following an amazingly simply formula, my votes this time go to Durand Durand, Embers of Autumn, Hostess Mostess, Howl Down the Chimney, Jonathan Mann, Max The Cat, Melvin, The Weakest Suit.
Actually, considering the turnout in this fight, perhaps I'll also vote for Berkshire Social Scene, deetak, The Hell Yeahs, Manhattan Glutton, Quimby, Red Skeletons, Slats, Steve Durand, Todd McHatton. Hmm, that would be 30%, not too bad. I'll think about it.

[Henrietta]

Quimby
C:3 (great music, I would have loved a more detailed arrangement), L:* (not rated -- post your lyrics next time to change that),

For some reason, I had the hardest time with the arrangement on this one. I recorded and re-recorded and then re-recorded again but nothing really sat well with the melody. I'm glad you liked it otherwise. Also, the lyrics are posted.. it's the 3rd or 4th one down.

[BabylonHoruv]

Babylonhoruv feat pandamonieumandatryom - This is pretty damn awesome. I feel like if I had fillings in my teeth, and I could use them to listen to things that I'm not supposed to listen to, this is what it would sound like. I remember when I was like ten I read this book called Fat Men from Outer Space (or something to that effect), in which a kid gets fillings in his teeth and does precisely that with them. This song made me think of that.

hehe, I love getting reviews like this. It's the sort of thing I will put on my album cover when I finally have one. Thank you Mister Quoons.

[jast]

Also, the lyrics are posted.. it's the 3rd or 4th one down.

Yeah, and I actually noticed them at some points when I wrote the reviews and forgot later on. Sorry. I'm not so good at reviewing lyrics anyway, but for completeness's sake, the score is L:2.

(edit) While I'm at it, I noticed I missed the lyrics for the entry of The Sky Looks Pissed, too. Sorry again. Likewise, the score is L:2.

[EmbersOfAutumn]

Embers of Autumn -- 14/15.
C:3, L:3 (good lyrics turning into great ones at the end), F:3, P:3 (sometimes not hitting the notes in vocals, but the overall vocal performance makes up for that), M:2 (slight clipping on vocals on loudest parts)

This just made my day! Thanks!

[BabylonHoruv]

OK, I enjoyed almost everything this time. There's too many songs for me to give decent reviews. So I will just say that my very favorite, by quite a bit, was the entry from howl down the chimney. Creepy, well, done, inspired.

[JonPorobil]

I don't generally find it productive to organize the songs into groups based on how good I thought they were, but this week is a special case in a couple of ways. So, both for the purpose of making it easier for me manage the time required to write reviews, and for the purpose of making a point, I've grouped the songs this week into three tiers. I've only given one listen to most of these songs, so some songs might jump from tier 1 to tier 2 or vice verse before I cast my final ballot. Anyways.

The first group represents the songs I loved and will probably vote for (Berkshire Social Scene, Durand Durand, The Hell Yeahs, Hostess Mostess, Jimmy Jet and his TV Set, Jonathan Mann, Max the Cat, Raisin Brain, Rik Gerblick, Roymond feat. BLT, SomeGuyCalledNoel, Todd McHatton, The White Hat, The Worldly Self-Assurance), which I'll get around to reviewing some time before the end of the voting period; I don't really have much advice for these songs, and my reviews will mainly amount to praise, so I've prioritized them low. I take no small amount of solace in the fact that there are fourteen such songs this week. Good job!

The second group are the songs that either I didn't like in spite of some clear effort on the part of the songwriter, or that were good, but had some glaring flaw(s) that kept me from voting for them (Cabin Fever, Chopped Liver Meat God, Cobalt Stomach, Cock, Deetak, DuToVa, Embers of Autumn, Eric Strom, Evil E, Heine, Howl Down the Chimney, John Kloberdanz, Maggie Kanuka, Manhattan Glutton, Melvin, Paco del Stinko, Pathetic Wannabes, Pet Squirrel, Red Skeletons, Roymond, Signboy, The Sky Looks Pissed, Slats, Steve Durand, Swilington, Tribe Called Quoons, The Weakest Suit, The Wet Towel Society), which I'll have reviewed by the end of the weekend.

And then there's group 3. The truly and unapologetically abysmal. The songs that showed no clear effort at all, or in some cases, even, a clear effort to be bad. Every fight tends to have one or two of these; this fight has nine, which even for a fight of record-breaking size, is far too many. These songs (Babylon Horuv, Chadderandom Abyss, Country Martyrs, LSK, Mar la Alma, McRamahamasham, Melvin is God, Ocho del Culo, squidbird) will all have to share one review, which is as follows:

Shame on you. I don't know if it's just two, three, or a full nine of you guys, horsing around, being intentionally terrible, but I wish you'd take a step back and look at what you're doing. There are real people sitting at their computers, checking this site, listening to these songs, and writing these reviews for you. They're volunteering their time to a spirit of community. Without that spirit of community, I'd have never learned half of what I know about recording, and I'm still barely competent. But when you submit songs with no intention of improving, no intention of being any good in the first place, and no apparent desire to be liked, you degrade the value of this community. You make it less pleasant to participate, which makes fewer people bother, which hurts those of us who actually care about the music here.

Think of the random people who find this site every day. The songs they click often determine whether they'll hang around. I'll leave it to Spud and JB to wonder how many potential regulars have been scared off by the downright abhorrent signal-to-noise ratio this fight. But to the perpetrators: Songfight is a wonderful community project, and you have noticeably degraded its quality. You've painted a mustache on a beautiful mural. Shame on you.

[roymond]

From the top...

Berkshire Social Scene - like the verse in 5, has a nice hop to it with the guitar parts. This has a nice natural flow to the performance though at times seems almost stuck in some structural formula. So the break with sustained notes is a great relief. But then it just jumps right back in, so I guess I wish there was a different development there. The ending is quirky and cool.

Cabin Fever - Yeah, nice groove and good vocal delivery., Love the swarmy guitar and cymbal accents. The heavy keys (or is that another guitar?) are a bit too persistent, taking up some much needed space in the mix.

Chopped Liver Meat God - I like your lyrics, for their word play and rhyme. The vocal lines are fine but your forced delivery is a little...forced. The flock of seagulls guitar is well served by its dissonance.

Cobalt Stomach - I hate to say it but I like the cohesion the relentless pounding techno tracks impose on my brain. Guitars are a welcome new comer...2 minutes in! Then they're gone... As with chopped liver, the vocal delivery is a bit mundane.

Cock - hand clap haters can eat it, this is well serve by the palms being pressed. I want this to be even more complex in texture, but it brings a very full bouquet to the party. Pretty cool. Maybe even too short.

Country Martyrs - I like minimal arrangements, and your use of space here is well done. The guitar's koto-like tone is fabulous, though a bit meandering. Keep at this, I like where it almost takes me.

deetak - this is my favorite so far. Lovely vocals, very intriguing lyrics and by far the most interesting performance, both piano and vocals.

Durand Durand - great arrangement, and like the hook. I always secretly loved the Chicago-like band but hated their music. This does so much more. I like how the hook brings everything back into line after the free-for-all verses. Can you lay out the credits for this? I just have to know how you guys put this together between you and ??? others. And yes, great band name

DuToVa - love the analog-ness of this. The synth, the vocal treatments, and the subtle wash behind everything is very suave. Very sweet.

Embers of Autumn - very catchy lyrics, in that elevated emo sort of way. Here's one where you shouldn't have taken the title word for word in the lyric. It's too long and awkward.

and one from the bottom...

Wet Towel Society - good pacing and presentation. Though it does drag a bit, there's a nice dynamic resonance throughout. Could use a good deal more ambient sonics to help carry my lyrics...I mean interest to the end, however. Familiar lyrics, yes, but not a bad job setting them in new surroundings, over all. Not a fan of the constantly descending vocal line, though I imagine it fits your image of a depressed socialist on the verge of societal contribution...God forbid You made it sound like this is something that may offend. Well, even if the act may, the product doesn't.

[Billy's Little Trip]

roymond Feat. Billy's Little Trip -- 9/15.
Is that pitch correction I hear? Eww!)

There's no pitch correction. I don't play that game. Give me a time spot that sounds like it when you get a chance, I'm curious now. Thanks for the review.

[A Bootleg]

And then there's group 3. The truly and unapologetically abysmal. The songs that showed no clear effort at all, or in some cases, even, a clear effort to be bad. Every fight tends to have one or two of these; this fight has nine, which even for a fight of record-breaking size, is far too many. These songs (Babylon Horuv, Chadderandom Abyss, Country Martyrs, LSK, Mar la Alma, McRamahamasham, Melvin is God, Ocho del Culo, squidbird) will all have to share one review, which is as follows:

Shame on you. I don't know if it's just two, three, or a full nine of you guys, horsing around, being intentionally terrible, but I wish you'd take a step back and look at what you're doing. There are real people sitting at their computers, checking this site, listening to these songs, and writing these reviews for you. They're volunteering their time to a spirit of community. Without that spirit of community, I'd have never learned half of what I know about recording, and I'm still barely competent. But when you submit songs with no intention of improving, no intention of being any good in the first place, and no apparent desire to be liked, you degrade the value of this community. You make it less pleasant to participate, which makes fewer people bother, which hurts those of us who actually care about the music here.

Think of the random people who find this site every day. The songs they click often determine whether they'll hang around. I'll leave it to Spud and JB to wonder how many potential regulars have been scared off by the downright abhorrent signal-to-noise ratio this fight. But to the perpetrators: Songfight is a wonderful community project, and you have noticeably degraded its quality. You've painted a mustache on a beautiful mural. Shame on you.

Hear, hear!

[rone rivendale]

Do you honestly believe I do bad songs on purpose?

Not shame on me, shame on you for being elitist.

[Steve Durand]

Do you honestly believe I do bad songs on purpose?

Well, your songs do cause one to wonder sometimes. I'll take your word for it that you're really trying.

[Steve Durand]

Durand Durand - great arrangement, and like the hook. I always secretly loved the Chicago-like band but hated their music. This does so much more. I like how the hook brings everything back into line after the free-for-all verses. Can you lay out the credits for this? I just have to know how you guys put this together between you and ??? others. And yes, great band name

So this is just Ross and me. Ross wrote the song and recorded a draft cut and sent it to me. I wrote and recorded the horn parts and sent them back to him. Then he worked the final versions of the guitars, bass, percussion, vocals. We then talked back and forth to get the final mix the way we wanted it. Ross actually did the mixing.

Glad you liked it.