STOP! Review time! Reviewed in random order. CLFPM = Composition, Lyrics, Feeling, Performance, Mix/Engineering.
Berkeley Social Scene -- 12/15
C:2 (sounds like someone had a lot of nervous energy to work off. The chorus and instrumental mini-breaks are the strongest parts for me), L:2 (cool but minus point for self-reference), F:3 (well, it does sound like fun, even though I'm not a fan of the musical idea), P:2 (the vocals sound held back, sometimes it's hard to make out the melody), M:3
Binary Red -- not quite a vote but great stuff! 12/15
C:3 (I enjoyed this a lot), L:0 ("missing"), F:3, P:2 (the hard staccato-y synth things that keep playing fifths sound like they're behind the beat in several sections, perhaps due to delay stuff), M:3
Bread Skeletons -- 14/15
C:3 (awesome arrangement, lively composition, killer chorus), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:3, M:3
deetak -- 14/15
C:3 (you already do this right all the time, I see no reason to highlight every aspect of it
), L:3 (nothing but awesome), F:3 (lots of fun), P:2 (you've got an almost overemphasized vocal vibrato and inaccurate phrasing, though I admit it works for this song. Some of the instruments are faker than they should be), M:3
Enter It In The Art Show -- 8/15
C:1 (I'm bored), L:0 (I'm bored), F:2, P:2 (I'm biased), M:3
Flvxxvm Florvm -- 12/15
C:2 (fun break, nice chorus), L:2 (no magic happening here, though I don't have any complaints either), F:3 (a very flvxxy comeback), P:2 (some cases of bad timing), M:3
The Hell Yeahs -- 12/15
C:2 (all in all I find it a bit boring. I think it's mainly because of the rather simple arrangement), L:2 (nice idea but nothing magical), F:2, P:2 (inaccurate vocals phrasing. In some places it fits, in some it doesn't), M:3 (bring the vocals up a bit more in the mix, perhaps)
Howl Down the Chimney -- 14/15
C:3 (nice progressions), L:3 (I like the story), F:3 (spooky cemetery thing), P:2 (neat doubled guitars. The reverby drums are weird, especially the snare. Some sloppy notes in the vocals), M:3 (not least for being the first song in a long time in which tremolo works for me)
IndiAdamJones -- 12/15
C:2 (I don't find it too exciting, but it's fairly good at what it does), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:2 (the mix of speaking/singing isn't bad per sé but it does sound inaccurate, if that makes sense), M:2 (bass reverb sounds too artificial for my tastes)
Jan Krueger -- back to no instruments. It's still fun! 13/15
C:2-3 (I like the chords a lot. Fun fact: this is about the first song for which I made up the chords on the guitar. Those ten minutes of practice probably advanced my guitar skills more than anything else I've done this year), L:2 (I'm trying a different writing style here), F:3, P:2-3 (I'm marginally more satisfied with my lead vocals than usual), M:3
Jizzazz 5:30AM -- more of this! 14/15
C:3 (can I call this oriental rock? Either way, it's something different), L:* (not rated, post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:3, M:3 (I can't exactly imagine how it'd sound but have you tried adding more reverb to that clean guitar in the verses? Just a though.)
Jon Eric feat. Steve Durand -- 12/15
C:3 (great upbeatness and everything, my only beef is that the false ending is a bit extreme), L:3 (brainwashing is fun!), F:3, P:2 (inaccurate singing. Hmm, how would this have sounded like with a guitar tone with more body?), M:2 (the dynamics of the vocals are a bit extreme at times, try to keep that in mind while perfor... actually, just turn up the compression a bit.)
Mailbox -- 14/15
C:3 (I just
love the bass line. Has an 80s feel to it but with the parts of those that I enjoyed. Great intro/break), L:2, F:3, P:3, M:3 (great placement of drums in the mix)
Manhattan Glutton -- 14/15
C:3 (lots of fun. For example, the highly sung long notes in the last chorus are a great touch), L:3, F:3 (the chorus is powerfully energetic, rest feels right too, plus it gels), P:3, M:2 (yucky flanger on guitar in some places, otherwise excellent)
Max The Cat -- 11/15
C:1 (is this a song?), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:3, M:3 (fun changes in the vocals)
Naked Philosophy -- 10/15
C:2 (takes a bit long to get started. Scratch that; it takes
really to get started. More than half of the song...), L:2, F:2, P:2 (inaccurate vocals), M:2 (I can't really stand the reverb on the guitar)
Nigel Clements -- uhh, genre bias? ... No? 8/15
C:2 (the chorus sounds like it's lacking a melody. May be due to the vocals, though), L:1 (cliched, God/Satan), F:1 (whatever it is, I can't feel it), P:2 (robotic drums, weak vocals), M:2 (thin-sounding vox, handling noises at the end)
Paco del Stinko -- this is my favourite song of yours so far. 14/15
C:3 (awesome chords, awesome arrangement; ending note seems a bit drawn out), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3, P:3 (vocals sound a little bit weak in some parts of the verses; nice phasing/flanging/whatever), M:3
PiGPEN -- 10/15
C:2 (generally enjoyable, the "instrumental" seems a bit pointless/boring though), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:1 (inaccurate vocals), M:3
Quoonsryche feat. Anaconda Hans -- 11/15
C:2, L:3 (fun idea), F:2, P:2 (either the vocals are meant to be funny or they're just weird. I like everything else), M:2 (clipping, otherwise good)
Ramen-Flavored ROMs -- 9/15
C:1 (nice dissonances, but there isn't really anything happening apart from that), L:2 (I don't get it -> default score), F:2, P:2 (vocals too slow, occasionally), M:2 (vocals hard to make out, lots of highs make it painful to listen to on headphones)
Ross Durand -- woah, that wasn't was I was expecting when you said "different". 12/15
C:3 (I like it), L:3 (great idea!), F:3 (works great with the lyrics), P:2 (vocal performance is sub-par), M:2 (lots of high frequencies hurt my ears, especially on headphones. Nice job on formant freakage. Perhaps it's because it's the only non-synthified thing, but the guitar sounds a bit out of place.)
Sheail -- 10/15
C:2 (fun, though I would have liked more melody stuff. Or is that forbidden in this genre?), L:0 ("missing"), F:2 (sometimes a bit more disjointed than I tend to like in the very few d&b things I've listened to), P:3 (performance probably isn't the right word here, so let the P stand for programming), M:3
The Sky Looks Pissed -- 10/15
C:2 (the end of what I think is a chorus is almost too dissonant, though I have this feeling it's intentional. I like the way things are structured and the overall musical stuff appeals to me.), L:* (not rated, post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2 (the out-of-key mouth organ in the middle sort of kills it for me), P:2 (mediocre singing, robotic drums), M:2 (noisy; please avoid doubling vocals until you get better at it. I like the guitar tones.)
SomeGuyCalledNoel -- 12/15
C:3 (I seem to always like your stuff), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:3 (nice backup vocals! Is this the first time you did that?), M:2 (guitar is way too loud relative to vocals, perhaps could use a hint of long-tailed reverb, too; better equipment, probably a mic, would help this a lot)
Steve Durand -- 14/15
C:3, L:3 (nice idea), F:3, P:2 (I appreciate that you're trying to expand vocally, but most of the high notes are pretty hard to bear. The rest is quite good though), M:3
Swilington -- 11/15
C:2 (nice, enjoyable and everything, but I feel it's not enough), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:3 (excellent synth sounds), M:2 (clipping, in vocals? Lyrics hard to make out in places, consider compressing the vocals (or the carrier signal? Whatever) more strongly)
Todd McHatton -- 14/15
C:3 (nice contrast between verses and chorus. I like it very much), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:3 (I'm more awake now, thanks!), P:3, M:3 (something about the way you mix your vocals still bugs me. I still can't figure it out exactly.)
Turkey and Giblets Dinner -- 11/15
C:1 (it's not without merit but it's not a song either), L:2 (can't concentrate on looking for awesomeness, sorry), F:2 (I'm getting a headache. May not be your fault, I'm not sure), P:3 (I'm going to go with liking the place where you get stuck), M:3
The Weakest Suit -- 12/15
C:3 (nice chords you sprinkled in, pretty cool arrangement; could have been a bit shorter, maybe), L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that), F:2, P:2 (held back vocals), M:3
Who Fly -- 14/15
C:3 (yay backup vocals; the end seems a bit arbitrary), L:3 (I don't get it but it resonated with me), F:3 (haunting), P:3 (some of the falsetto vocals sound a bit squeaky, the rest makes up for that, plus interest), M:3 (vocal distortion sounds cool)
So if you kept count correctly, you already know who I'm going to vote for: Bread Skeletons, deetak, Howl Down the Chimney, Jizzazz 5:30AM, Mailbox, Manhattan Glutton, Paco del Stinko, Steve Durand, Todd McHatton, Who Fly. And me.
These didn't make the final cut and thus narrowly missed getting voted for: IndiAdamJones, Jon Eric feat. Steve Durand, Ross Durand, SomeGuyCalledNoel. Sorry, guys, this fight was just particularly awesome.
Spot on about the basket - by playing the role of Captain Obvious in a few parts, you're taking up space that could be used for better words (words that expand on the theme). For the most part, you've explored the theme pretty well though things like the basket lines are a bit redundant and just scratch at the surface. I can go through all of the lyrics and pick out every part I feel could be improved as there isn't much wrong with it, and a lot that's really right.
