And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Teplin »

Somebody do some art so Spud'll let us have the new songs!
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by ujnhunter »

done...
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Eric Y. »

Thanks ujnhunter! Yours got in right before mine, and also much better quality. I don't have much to work with here, but wanted something to get submitted. In retrospect, I didn't even include the actual title...
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by rone rivendale »

Can't wait to see what ppl think of my song. ^_^
From spoken word to actual singing, I can screw up any style with style. :D
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

Rone Rivendale wrote:Can't wait to see what ppl think of my song. ^_^
Sounds like Metallica.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Henrietta »

They have jumpsuits in juvie? Let's go do some crimes. :)
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by nyjm »

Manhattan Glutton wrote:
Rone Rivendale wrote:Can't wait to see what ppl think of my song. ^_^
Sounds like Metallica.
No way man, those licks are pure Dave Mustaine - but after he *cough*got kicked out*cough* uh... left. Totally Megadeth.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by JonPorobil »

Very brief first impressions. No particular order.

It appears that I would have won my bet, if I'd had any takers. Maybe I'll get votes for breaking the monotony?

Ross Durand, you have a lot to answer for. "Hoo-vee-ay?" :roll: Cute song.

Steve Durand, your horns sound even bigger and brighter than usual. Whatever you did, keep on doin' it.

IRC BFF, I heard this song numerous times before the fight went up, and even played a small part in it myself. It took me a few times to really digest the structure of the song, but I honestly believe this one stands among the best this week.

Quimby's track is awesome too.

Rone Rivendale, your vocals sound great this week. The rest of the track still sounds awful, but the vocals are clean for once. Keep it up.

Ford's Theater Disaster, I like your lyrics.

Wages, get yourself a collaborator. You need some bass and drums in this track.

Manhattan Glutton, I know you're desperate to hear this, so: I don't think you sound like Metallica. I don't much care for Metallica, but I like your song.

The Weakest Suit, I wish you'd spent more time developing your idea.

Full reviews still to come.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by nyjm »

Generic wrote:Ford's Theater Disaster, I like your lyrics.
Thanks! I'm actually a firm believer that the current American penal system screws more people than it helps, but that's another thread.

Time to give a public thanks to this collab's cast and crew:

Eric Y. - drums (twice!)
signboy - thunderin' bass
big crouton - blisterin' solo

Everything else is my fault. :)
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

After the first listen through these are my thoughts.

Night Elf Mohawk – Vox reminds me of Buddy Guy, is my favorite part of the song. The track seems a bit too midi for my taste.

Manhattan Glutton – The melody suits the vox very well, especially at the beginning (the lower part.) I liked the chorus quite a bit, the guitars and vox work very well together. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. This is my favorite of the bunch.

Ford’s Theater Disaster - A nice track. Nothing is standing out for me especially until the solo and the effects on the vox immediately after. I like this one.

Quimby - I liked the relaxed feel and the vocals. It might be a tad repetitive.

Steve Durand – I liked the rhythm in the second part and the good use of the horns.

The Weakest Suit – I like it when you changed the rhythm/strumming on the guitar. That definitely made it more interesting. The melody had some good spots in it and I like the way it ended.

Weather Schedule – The intro reminded me of the beginning of “Fortunate Son.”

Pathetic Wannabees – Reminds me of “ballroom blitz” especially in the vox.

The Shanks – Nice use of the 80’s synth effects. I think I heard some of that on my Atari 2600.

Drew Styles – I like the idea of the acoustic/fuzzed out guitar combo.

The Bourbon Drops – Uke? I like the melody quite a bit.

Ca$ham – I like the lyric more than the melody/vox. It’s just a tad awkward melodically, but I enjoyed listening to it.

Jan Krueger - I liked the melody quite a bit. I’m impressed with this one.

LSK – Is that a rhythm track or is someone breaking into my basement? Never mind, it’s just the ghouls out back.

Deetak – The melody and vox is faintly reminiscent of rocky horror.

Jon Eric – A fun song.

Rone Rivendale – A little muddy for my taste.

IRC BFF – I’m not a fan of AABB rhymes like these. I enjoyed the chorus. But juvie/movie… kind of predictable.

Paco del Stinko – 50’s beat reunion? The chorus worked for me.
LK and MC – I liked the guitar and the panning.


Wages – I liked the guitars. I really, really wanted drums to kick in and take the whole thing to a new level.
Nigel Clements – This one didn’t hit me either.

Ross Durand – I liked the guitar right off. And it brought a rainbow to my rainy little world.

Pigfarmer Jr –Lots of potential and no follow through.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by signboy »

Wages is in! :)
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

Lots of good, interesting entries this week. There's something I like in each one of them. I'll be unable to give thorough reviews until work slows down next week. All I'm going to say so far is that I found LSK more amusing than I probably should have. :)

PS: I've noticed at least two songs mentioned cocaine in the first 10 seconds. And man... what's with the prison sex? Guess I've never been to juvie.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by signboy »

Here's some "before-Saturday-morning-coffee" reviews. I was a little harsh on some, but I tried not to just say "I don't like it".



The Bourbon Drops
As much as I like tracks that rock out with drums & stuff, this style fits your voice really well. The delivery is funny in a "hmm" kind of way. You say "that and cookin up the crystal meth" so pretty. I like it, it reminds me of something Joan Baez might have done.

Ca$ham
I think the epic rock opera sound of this could have been enhanced with some "airier" backing vocals. I mean, if that's what you were going for. I like it though, I put it on one song repeat for a while. I would have liked it more if the vocal delivery had been a bit more in tune.

Deetak
Out of curiosity, did you have a drum track originally, that you decided not to use? This is well produced and has a very distinctive sound, but I can't make up my mind as to whether a rhythm track would have improved it or not.

Drew Styles & the Blue Velvet Band
Production wise, it sounds like you had an easier time recording the vocals than anything else. This could definitely be a fantasic song with some more "in your face" guitars and backing vox.
I dub it a diamond in the rough. Great writing, mediocre execution.

Ford's Theater Disaster
I was too busy at work to say anything sooner, but this could do with a bit more mixing & EQing. Great vocal delivery though, and I'd definitely be a part of this again if we get another solo like that. Props.

IRC BFF
This is great. It feels like the slow part would have worked better used just once as a bridge.

Jan Krueger
Great production and performance on an almost a cappella track.

Jon Eric
This sure is chipper. The snap instead of drums works well.

LK and MC
That's better. These are the production values I wish a lot of other songs in this fight had. Dig the arena feel.


Manhattan Glutton
I don't know what to say. This gets burned for the work truck.

Nigel Clements
I love hearing synth in a rock setting, but the high sawtooth bit could have used some filtering so the buzz doesn't steal attention. The vocal delivery has a definite style, but it might be a bit too much up front.

Night Elf Mohawk
If pulled off a bit better, the falsetto vox would have been great. Is that a fake harmonica? Even if it isn't, it needs to be a bit quieter. Or replaced with another guitar solo.

Paco del Stinko
Good ol Stinky. I always look forward to hearing your tracks. I'm digging the blend of jazz and rock. Great vocal delivery.

Pathetic Wannabees
I don't know why my gear won't push mono through both speakers, but I don't think it would be much better in both ears.

Pigfarmer Jr
nice acoustic tone. Sounds like your vocal mic is frapping out. This would have benefitted from some delay/reverb.

Quimby
I like the overall tone and the slinky guitar. Top notch vocal performance, as usual.

Rone Rivendale
That's a pretty violent guitar sound. You disappoint me with a bad lnk
This is a little easier to listen to than usual.

Ross Durand
The first time I heard "hoo vee ay" I said WTF. The second listen, I L'ed OL. This is well put together. I thank you for using a real harmonica, but I think it could have used some mexical touch.

Shanks
80's! Yeah! I had to hit pause and go get dressed properly before I could finish listening.

Steve Durand
Wow, more synth. It's well placed. The horns sound fantastic, but they could be pulled back a bit.

Wages
I think this is one of your best vocal performances. As an electric G&G tune, the timing hurts it. And yes, it would kick ass with some D&B.

The Weakest Suit
Haha, the lyrics made me laugh without knowing I was going to.

Weather Schedule
This is okay. The vocals are uninspired for the style of the song.

My votes go to:
IRC BFF
LK & MC
Manhatton Glutton
Paco Del Stinko


[edit]Holy crap, did Firefox ever save my bacon. I hit post, closed the tab, then noticed it wasn't posted. When I opened "recently closed tabs", Firefox had saved all my text.[/edit]
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by wages »

signboy wrote:Here's some "before-Saturday-morning-coffee" reviews.
Your "morning" didn't start until after noon too? :) I wouldn't dare attempt reviews until after or during the coffee. ;)
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by MisterQuoons »

Pigfarmer Jr wrote:The track seems a bit too midi for my taste.
'kay......only thing programmed here was the drums, so I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean. My main concern about my playing on this one is how sloppy my timing tends to be. MIDI tracks tend to be pretty precise so....thank you, I guess? Would you mind elaborating a little more on what you meant exactly?
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by JonPorobil »

I figured he was probably referring more to the fakeness of the instruments than the supposed sequencing. When I play "bass" on my keyboard, it still sounds MIDI, even if it's not quantized via sequencing software.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Manhattan Glutton »

Okay, so I couldn't resist. I can't focus on work until I do my reviews... sigh.

Overall, I am surprised at the number of references to GTA, cocaine, shanking, prison sex, and Mexico. Also, the number of different styles going on is crazy.

The Bourbon Drops: Are you actually playing this live, or is the countdown contrived? 8-) Good singing. The song idea itself isn't anything new or exciting. The harmonica is a welcome addition. Maybe the tambourine could have been used the whole song.

ca$ham: Excellent lyrics, though I can't make them out at some points. I like the backing vocals. Are you using a metronome, or purposely going for the slow/fast effect? Guitar effect at 1:20 is nice.

Deetak: This is by far the best Deetak entry yet. If you could sing a little clearer, that would help; sometimes it sounds like you have marbles in your mouth. Now get another instrument.

Drew Styles & The Blue Velvet Band: Coke reference! The music has a lot of room to be louder/fuller. Double track some of the guitars, add some bass, add some compression, (harmony vocals on the chorus?, )and re-assess your levels. The vocals are a bit too much louder than everything else, but the vocal performance is very good. The chorus drums need a bit more "rock".

Ford's Theater Disaster: I think with a bit of tweaking this could be really exciting. Vocals are good overall, aside from some flat notes and clipping. The guitars could be fuller/louder. There's one guitar there that was off-beat and was kind of distracting. Awesome solo.

IRC BFF: Nice! At first I was going to complain about the monotonous vocals, but you quickly made them awesome. Love the vox. I would make the distorted guitar solid & use less styled strumming at the chorus. OMG bridge! OMG bridge2 is really cool! There's just so much cool stuff you've done with this song, it's almost negative because it feels like there's no clear hook. Some of the levels are bit awkward as well.

Jan Krueger: Another great a capella job. The problem with acapella is that every little sustain is obvious. 8-) The off-beatness at 1:10 is a bit distracting. Honestly, I like your WKTA a cappella a lot better.

Jon Eric: Excellent lyrics and hook! I like it. Overall a very good performance. I don't even know if I'd add anything.

LK & MC: The 80s drum samples are very distracting. Once I get past that, this song is rockin'. The chorus has good energy. The verse has good build-up. And the fade out at the end. Only complaint is the vox could use a couple more takes to get solid. Man, I feel like this is spandex-fight this week.

LSK: omg wtf lol. Good job.

Manhattan Glutton: Lyrics don't make sense, didn't de-ess vocals, vocal levels are all over the place. I think it turned out alright. My favorite part is the end of the bridge. I'll probably redo this song with different lyrics for my band and play it live.

Nigel Clements: Catchy! Vocals need work - style is a bit over the top and quite a few flat notes. Love the acoustic guitar breaks. Cool bridge, and with cocaine reference! The chorus is definitely my favorite part.

Night Elf Mohawk: Pretty cool blues tune, though probably not the most original. I dig it. Next time work on maybe fusing your blues chops with some experimentation. The vocals are good for the most part, but I'm not quite sure if it's a woman or a man trying to be funny. Oh, it's Quoons, so I think I can safely be disgusted by the image of a woman this brings to me?

Paco Del Stinko: Man, I love how you come up with something new and awesome every week. The lyrics are great, but I'm not so fond of the "loosy goosey" words. Cool part after the bridge. Your vocals are really good this week, but still need some fixing on the sustains. Only other criticism I have is at the intro when you're building suspense, some of the high-hat hits seem off... just nudge them over a bit.

Pathetic Wannabees: With some production handling, this could be a lot better. For one, the vocals are way too loud, and honestly they're not the strong point of the track. The style is pretty tired and generic, but a welcome change sometimes.

Pigfarmer Jr: This may be the best first G&G entry I've heard. With that said, you're kind of tripping over the lyrics at points - so redo the vocals, change the words, or both. What it needs most are harmony vocals at the chorus. You don't need a whole band, but maybe some violins or light drums would bring stuff together. You can double-track the guitar to get a more full effect and then pan each track left and right. Anyway, I'm getting carried away here. Good job!

Quimby: Wow, your vocals are chilling... in a very sexy and understated way. Love it. Musically, I think some parts get repetitive (specifically the drum beat) or could use more filling out.

Rone Rivendale: Well, it was ok until 0:12. I can tell you have a decent idea here, it's just so dissonant. You might want to study some scales and get yourself a chromatic tuner. Then pick a scale and only put notes together that belong on a scale together. You're not that bad at singing except for the fact you stay on one note. So do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBaXwRQQciI

Ross Durand: I like this a lot. It's not exactly the most original idea/execution, but it's done very well. Good singing, good guitar playing, good length, and excellent lyrics. "Hoovieay" made me laugh.

Shanks: Well, you had me until I heard the lyrics about fags and man sex. Other than that, it's creative and done well. The synth is a bit loud at the last verse.

Steve Durand: Great lyrics. I'm not a big fan of the music itself, except the trumpets. Since the remainder is mostly done with the trumpets, I will let the non-trumpet parts slide. You and Paco could make a great Cake song together... I'll bring the vibraslap. Anyway, back to your song: I like it. Only other complaint is my typical about your vocal sustains. Cocaine reference!

Wages: You need to get some fake instruments, man. This would rock out. Mostly good guitar playing and good singing; could use additional takes here and there. It seems like you might not be playing with a metronome? I'm kind of lost at the bridge. Production wise, the vox are clipping at points and the track seems maybe a little over-compressed.

Weakest Suit: Last week you had other instruments, now back to G&G, eh? The vocals are improving! Clever lyrics. I'd like to hear this song with a few more layers; it has potential.

Weather Schedule: Great vocals. Mix-wise, it could use some work - particularly the vocals are hot and the music gets lost, and the whole thing could use more 'gel' to bring it together. The talking is a little distracting and grating. Some of the instrumentation could be more adventurous (drums), but I understand not doing that, too. All in all, it's a cool reproduction of that genre. It's obvious the vocals are the central attraction here, so when they drop out or avoid recurring melodies it's hard to hook onto.
Last edited by Manhattan Glutton on Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

MisterQuoons wrote:
Pigfarmer Jr wrote:The track seems a bit too midi for my taste.
'kay......only thing programmed here was the drums, so I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean. My main concern about my playing on this one is how sloppy my timing tends to be. MIDI tracks tend to be pretty precise so....thank you, I guess? Would you mind elaborating a little more on what you meant exactly?
As was mentioned it's the tone of the instruments being played. I liked what I heard, but I didn't care for the sounds. It's like when I play my 30 dollar casio keyboard.. the playing may be okay (in my case it isn't) but it still sounds not great.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by jast »

Manhattan Glutton wrote:Jan Krueger: Another great a capella job. The problem with acapella is that every little sustain is obvious. 8-) The off-beatness at 1:10 is a bit distracting. Honestly, I like your WKTA a cappella a lot better.
I'm not really happy with this song either. I had to rush it pretty badly. I had lots of other things to do (extremely secret things, too) and had to do all of the writing and recording in three hours. I had four hours for WKTA. ;)
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by The Weakest Suit »

By my current count, "Back From Juvie" is the 250th song I've written. I'm 1/4 of the way to 1000.
Reviews to come...hopefully.
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by Lunkhead »

Pigfarmer Jr wrote:The Bourbon Drops – Uke? I like the melody quite a bit.
Yes, it is a ukelele.
Manhattan Glutton wrote:The Bourbon Drops: Are you actually playing this live, or is the countdown contrived? 8-) Good singing. The song idea itself isn't anything new or exciting. The harmonica is a welcome addition. Maybe the tambourine could have been used the whole song.
It was performed live around a mic. It's actually a melodica. Thanks for the comments.

The lineup for this song was:
Amy - lead vocals
Erin - ukulele and backup vocals
Kat - guitar
Me - melodica and tambourine
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Location: near Aachen, Germany
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Re: And all I got was this lousy jumpsuit (Back From Juvie)

Post by jast »

I was away from my review equipment over the weekend, so I wrote my reviews this evening.

The Bourbon Drops -- 12/15
C:2 (have I heard this song before?) L:3 (at first I thought it would suck. Then it turned into great.) F:2 P:3 (some of the vocals are a little bit off. I've heard much more irritating examples of that, though.) M:2 (the uke or whatever it is sort overpowers everything else. Especially the low parts of the vocals are hard to make out. Try compressing the vocals a bit and bring them up more. You already know that the recording is lo-fi so I'll just leave it at that)

Ca$ham -- 12/15
C:3 L:3 (seasoned with a hint of evil) F:2 P:2 (vocals are a bit off, particularly backup vocals. Bass has pretty loose timing. At least I think it's the bass.) M:2 (drums are a bit thin, the rest is pretty good)

deetak -- 11/15
C:3 (sort of haunting. Great songwriting.) L:2 (will I ever manage to figure out any of the less direct vocals in songs? Probably not...) F:2 P:2 (you do great singing, in a way. What I think would really take it to the next level: first, more precise intonation; some parts sound almost mumbled. Second, mix in more chesty vocal qualities. If you always sing this way, you're letting about half of your vocal capabilities wither away. It's not easy to find the right technique on your own, particularly if you want things to blend together nicely, but it gives you so much more flexibility and so much more impressive vocals.) M:2 (pretty bad fake instruments, though I guess if you, like me, can't afford the more flashy fake instruments, it can't really be helped...)

Drew Styles & the Blue Velvet Band -- 11/15
C:2 (I'm not excited. I don't hate it either.) L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that) F:2 P:3 M:2 (the reverb on the vocals is really weird, did you delay the dry signal to come after the reverb or something? This really irritates me...)

Ford's Theater Disaster -- 11/15
C:2 (A bit repetitive, both structurally and melodically) L:2 (aggressive much? I can't really figure out the message.) F:2 P:3 (I said in some previous fight that your vocals didn't work too well. They do here. One of the drum breaks near the end semms to have poor timing. The rest sounds fine.) M:2 (clipping on the vocals. Panned/doubled vocals in the chorus are cool. I think there's room acoustics on your vocals that the vocals wound sound much better without. Or your reverb effect sucks. Vocals also sound a bit tinny.)

IRC BFF -- bias alert! 14/15
C:3 (I think it's a pretty epic composition) L:3 (I think it's a pretty epic story) F:3 (I think it's a pretty epic soundscape) P:3 (I think it's a pretty epic collaborative effort) M:2 (the overall levels are not exactly perfect)

Jan Krueger -- 13/15
C:3 (I seriously don't know Pachelbel's canon in D major intimately. I maybe heard it in passing once. Teplin pointed out the lifted chords after I submitted the song. Oh well.) L:3 (perhaps. Whatever.) F:3 (I think it works.) P:1 (the performance stinks. Particularly the backup vocals. I rushed this song pretty badly. Three hours for writing and recording. Initially I wanted to use guitar but no take sounded right. About 50 minutes before time was up I decided to go for a cappella yet again. The percussion is a classical guitar.) M:3 (nothing fancy. Pretty basic but I think it does the job.)

Jon Eric -- 13/15
C:3 (I like this. Fun things thrown in, e.g. the "yeah" at the end.) L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that) F:3 P:2 (more vocal accuracy, please) M:3 (perhaps just a bit more power on the vocals. The spoken vocals in particular highlight this problem. The doubling/harmonized near the end amplifies a vocal quality of yours that makes that bit sound radically different from the rest. Consider panning some of tracks, and perhaps cut the levels on some of them a bit.)

LK and MC -- 14/15
C:3 (I guess it does what it's trying to do pretty well, even though I'm not too fanatical about this kind of song.) L:3 (you sort of went for the same angle I did, but still different. I like it.) F:2 (I think I would have enjoyed it more if it rocked more.) P:3 (nice guitar tone. Actually I like all performance-related things.) M:3

LSK -- 4/15
C:0 (drawn out intro... oh wait, that's the entire song. Pointless (?) screaming. Random breaks. Random everything.) L:0 ("missing") F:1 P:1 (I guess you intended for the screaming to sound wimpy. That doesn't make the performance any better, though.) M:2 (clipping)

Manhattan Glutton -- 13/15
C:3 L:2 (I don't completely get what you're talking about. I guess I'm just clueless.) F:3 P:3 M:2 (I think the vocals could use more power and be a tad more present in the mix. I'm not sure if performance or engineering could fix this better. The reverb/delay on the lead vocals sounds a bit awkward/artificial in the unaccompanied bit. Apart from that, good mix.)

Nigel Clements -- 12/15
C:3 (nice overall composition) L:3 (best thing here: sneaky little pun. Nice take on the title, too.) F:2 P:2 (more vocal accuracy would add lots of greatness) M:2 (the saw-y thing is hard to listen to on headphones... headache alert! Vocals sounds tinny. Clipping on some parts of the vocals, particularly doubled ones. Overall levels are fine.)

Night Elf Mohawk -- 10/15
C:2 (rather generic blues) L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that) F:2 P:2 (wobbly vocals) M:2 (the pitch shifting effect on the vocals isn't particularly good.)

Paco del Stinko -- 11/15
C:3 (The sort-of-swing sections and the rock sections combine a lot better than I first thought they would. I like the former in particular.) L:2 (I think I just can't connect with the kind of lyrics you write. It's not like I hate them but I can't make sense of them either.) F:2 P:2 (I like your low vocals but they still sound a bit like you're at the very edge of your range or slightly beyond it. Everything else is mostly great.) M:2 (I sort of think the drums should be a bit less dry... just a hunch. The reverb on the finger snaps sounds really artificial. Other than that, nice levels, clean mix, etc.)

Pathetic Wannabees -- 10/15
C:2 (not too exciting. Not too bad.) L:3 F:1 (just not my cup of tea) P:2 (okay, I guess, though I'm not a big fan of the vocals. Very staccato-y or overemphasized or something like that. Oh well.) M:2 (clipping, in the vocals I think. Reverb sounds cheap.)

Pigfarmer Jr -- 12/15
C:3 L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that) F:3 P:2 (you occasionally stumble over the lyrics. I have this feeling that the BPM keeps changing.) M:2 (I'm not entirely sure about this, but isn't that guitar extremely twangy? Or whatever you call it. Anyway, less highs might have been nice.)

Quimby -- 12/15
C:1 (I'm almost bored. Perhaps it's just not my kind of thing.) L:3 (nice dark revenge thing) F:3 P:3 (vocal performance mixes well with overall feeling) M:2 (Good: clean. Sensible levels. Bad: would have liked more punch. Drums seem a bit thin. Some vocals are a bit too far away for my taste)

Rone Rivendale -- 7/15
C:1 (I don't like the almost random synth thing. Generally not too exciting.) L:2 F:1 P:1 (guitar timing is tighter than it sometimes was. Vocals have plosive tendencies and it's hard to tell if you're trying to speak or trying to sing. It really sounds like neither. It also sounds held back.) M:2 (I think the guitar has too much of a reverb or string tone decay. I can't tell which. The guitar sometimes masks most of the synth.)

Ross Durand -- 14/15
C:2 (I file this under generic folk. Not bad, not extremely original either.) L:3 (I think you're the lyrical winner of this round. I would never have thought of this twisted perspective. Awesome!) F:3 P:3 ("juvi-e"... that's pretty evil.) M:3

The Shanks -- 11/15
C:2 (sort of fun, sort of weird, I sort of can't make up my mind about it) L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that) F:3 (fun idea) P:2 (good drums, so-so vocals. If you're going to double vocals, make sure they line up better... yeah, I know, pot/kettle...) M:2 (the bass synth is way too trebly, it's painful on headphones)

Steve Durand -- 14/15
C:3 (I'm not sure if I find the tempo signature changes just a tiny bit awkward. They do sound fine on second listen... I do love the songwriting, anyway.) L:3 (great blind eye thing) F:3 P:3 M:2 (I think the brass might be a bit too strong in the verses.)

Wages -- 10/15
C:2 (I think this song would have benefitted from more instruments, particularly drums. The song is nice but a has a bit less variation than I normally like.) L:* (not rated; post your lyrics next time to change that) F:2 P:2 (occasionally loose timing, occasionally the vocals are off, otherwise fine) M:2 (a few spots of evil clipping. Vocals too buried by the guitar.)

The Weakest Suit -- 13/15
C:3 L:3 F:2 P:2 (more confidence on the vocals! Or did you have to record this in the middle of the night? In that case I'll just complain without any constructive suggestions.) M:3

Weather Schedule -- 12/15
C:3 L:2 (I'm not sure what to think.) F:2 P:3 (I don't like the spoken vocals much. The rest is cool.) M:2 (thin-sounding mix. I'm not sure this kind of old-school reverb on the vocals fits too well. More bite in the vocals and a softer reverb might be nice.)

Votes go to IRC BFF, Jon Eric, LK and MC, Manhattan Glutton, Ross Durand, Steve Durand, The Weakest Suit. Myself, too.
Last edited by jast on Sun Mar 29, 2009 3:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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