You Call That a Moment? (Reviews)

[wages]

reviews

Just curious if the rest of the reviews are pending? The Affirmative Mention, Bella D's Melodies, Sockpuppet, Cock, and The HATE Noise

Thank you for your consideration.

[Ryan]

Sure we'll call it "pending." No, I actually am a little rusty with the winamp-combo-typing-stuff. Um...

Affirmative Action: I agree with Glennn and John Eric. Jealous of the vocals, the guitar tone was a little much- like someone let Johnny Marr sneak into the backstage area of a Matchbox 20 concert. It cheapens the song for me- listen to the Smiths Queen is Dead album and you can hear what maybe you wanted your guitars to sound like. A simple clean Tele would have done it for me. adlib vocals at the end fell a bit short, but super solid. File under Adult Contemporary. Overall, this is a winner. Good chemistry, good effort, honest, Sheboygan.

Bella D- I heard this on Glennn's Iphone first. I gave him feedback already. So... Pending.

Sockpuppet: I thought that your song was just the intro to the next song on my playlist. Rates highly in the 30 seconds and under category, as does Louis Gossett Jr's love making. So you are in good company.

Cock: I liked this one- "we weep and cling" line in the breakdown needs to be reworked- all the focus comes to the vocals at that part, and they aren't quite up to the task of carrying it. Redemption in the chorus/outro of course. Good harmonies- but a little rigid. My gut tells me that you are using a keyboard to tap out melody and harmony ideas and then singing over them. A great tool for writing and getting a good scratch take, but I am left thinking, "one more take, and with feeling" on some stanzas. Think of how much soul Depeche Mode still gets into their vocals- even though they are simple, rigid, clinical-sounding... I agree with, but probably like it more than, John Eric.

The Hate Noise: I already reviewed them too- so... pended?

[Stubby Phillips]

Hello again, kids!
This week's amazing adventure into the schizophrenetic world of Mr. Diagnosis is brought to you by ASCII (The Original and Still the Best), and Comcast (Voted 2010 Worst Company in the U.S. by Consumerist.com readers). Recorded LIVE at Worldwide Headquarters overlooking beautiful Thornton Creek in the (acoustic) shadow of The Blue Angels performing at SeaFair. So if you hear a powerful jet engine in the background, it's our mighty Armed Forces showing us what we're fighting for! (polite applause). (ISTT)*
Virtual prizes for this fight will be selected from things in my backyard. Good luck to all the contestants -- here we go!

Queen Cigarette: Awesome punk/grunge sensibilities and energy! The short breaks add interest, and the melodies are classic - familiar but not banal. You are awarded one Gray Heron, with fish. Vote.

Lord of Oats: Vocal is atrocious in a comforting kind of way. Minimalist lyric is engaging. The keys at the end help a bit, but I'm not convinced. Broken lid from a plastic bin.

Riot Nrrrds: The sound of the stylus hitting the vinyl is cool. This grabs me better than most GnG songs; not sure why. The vocal melody? The harmony/unison vox? Fresh hot coffee? No -- you're not getting my coffee! I award you one Redwood needle. Use it well.

Cock: You applied compression to the entire master. Did you really want that first synth note to be louder, or did you just live with it? This song reminds me of 1983, a sad time in the annuls of popular music (or so I've heard). One drop of rain.

Pillar of Paprika: Kazoo? Mishta luc farenzi (adequate but disinterested vox). Blota garom sciet (I like the intro and outro). Ti mal (it's got a good atmospheric feel, but not enough happening to satisfy my frenzophilia... BTW -- that's MY word. MINE!). You, my friend, get the tiny broken corpse of a once-proud water ballon.

Berkeley Social Scene: 0:55 is a good change/eventual hook. It maintains a somewhat interesting feel, but I'm left wanting more. My tiny boombox says it sounds O.K., but I'M the one doing the reviews, so... you get a California poppy.

The HATE Noise: I think this is coming from the street in front of my house. Damn Apartment Hell keeps creeping toward my neighborhood. This is the best psuedo-nerd-whitecore ever (MY word). In history. Funny, too. I'll give you a nice young bamboo shoot. Hell, you can have 'em all. Vote.

Steve Durand: Damn-the-British-Invasion sensibilities makes this interesting for a while, but not long. One rotting stump. (That's your prize, not my metaphorical opinion of your song.)

That's all for now, folks. More reviews and prizes to come! See you in - cyberspace - !

- Mr. Diagnosis


*ISTT: I Support The Troops (MY acronym)

[wages]

Sure we'll call it "pending." No, I actually am a little rusty with the winamp-combo-typing-stuff. Um...

Affirmative Action: I agree with Glennn and John Eric. Jealous of the vocals, the guitar tone was a little much- like someone let Johnny Marr sneak into the backstage area of a Matchbox 20 concert. It cheapens the song for me- listen to the Smiths Queen is Dead album and you can hear what maybe you wanted your guitars to sound like. A simple clean Tele would have done it for me. adlib vocals at the end fell a bit short, but super solid. File under Adult Contemporary. Overall, this is a winner. Good chemistry, good effort, honest, Sheboygan.

Thanks! And .. thanks. We spent a fair amount of time working on it, but I think it can be polished a lot more a la the reviews thus far. Altogether though, happy with the product we created.

[joshmillard]

Josh Millard: You know those high-hats that you found in the dumpster behind Guitar Center- those were in fact, hubcaps. Or maybe it was the micing job- that is why most people I know just let Ken fix that stuff. Or a pile of Kens, to reference my own unfunny comic generator piece. "This wasn't us clicking." great lyric. urgency in vocals "sell the song" and

And what? OH GOD AND WHAT?!

And agreed on the hats. I mean, they're fairly cheap starter kit hats as it is, so they never sound great, but I had a friend using my kit to record something of his own the other day and he snuggled the left overhead a lot closer to the hats than I usually keep it. One of the many things I didn't take the time to adjust in the crazy manic last-minute recording session Thursday morning. There's also zero mic on the kick. And about a billion other things, really.

I made a recording a couple months back where I tracked my drums onto my iPhone while the iPhone was sitting inside a cowbell on the floor. The hats on this remind me way too much of that recording, but this time it wasn't intentional.

Really enjoying listening to everybody's stuff so far, will get quickie reviews up once I've gotten through the whole playlist.

[Steve Durand]

Steve Durand: Damn-the-British-Invasion sensibilities makes this interesting for a while, but not long. One rotting stump. (That's your prize, not my metaphorical opinion of your song.)

Dear Stubby,
I just received my stump and it isn't nearly as rotten as I expected.

To whom do I complain? (doesn't that sound better that "who do I complain to"?)

[Ryan]

Now you are to which one can is getting it!

[Manhattan Glutton]

I really want some of whatever Hate Noise is insufflating/inhaling/injecting.

[sleepysilverdoor]

I'm tempted to do audio reviews entirely from short samples.

Wait, no, fuck that.

[joshmillard]

Okay, so! It's interesting coming into this without zero context for how everybody typically operates. (Well, almost zero context in some cases; I gave last week's fight a listen so a few of you are minimally familiar in that sense at least; and I've been poking around a bit in the sidefight archives, loved Eddiebangs' Head Like A Hole loungelizard thing.) Fun eclectic pile of music to plow through. Thoughts as they came out, in the random order the page view listed 'em in.

Queen Cigarette: Best Early Guided By Voices impression I've heard in a while, for better or worse. Mix is obnoxious but it's a kind of obnoxiousness that I find charming, so I guess "better".

Bella D's Melodies: Props for working kid vox so thoroughly; I'm curious about how this was put together. Flow from section to section is maybe a bit jarring. Makes me want to put on The Bran Flakes.

The HATE Noise: I laughed out loud at "hardly a moment / to play with my dog". Nice work all around, just really slick.

Steve Durand: Chorus harmony vox work better for me than some of the verse stuff, primarily the higher-register reaches like at the end of the verses. Like the idea of the rise but the execution feels too uncertain -- you gotta sell the shit out of a move like that. Fun little pop construction in any case.

MC Who Izzy: Gotta agree with the all-hat, no-cowboy take on the intro vs. meat thing.

Riot Nrrrds: I liked the octave harmony a lot better than the straight doubling stuff; the little timbral and phrasal differences between the parts feels more like nice texture when there's that space between the two voices whereas it just feels a little muddy/sloppy when it's straight unison. That said, I think the unison worked fine in the bridge. Really liked the overall minimalist feel of the whole thing, the little super-twee instrumental break and the octave harmony chorus hook in particular.

Tailirine Irene: That shaker/hat/whateveritis sample running throughout got kind of annoying running through so much of the song -- lowering it in the mix or using something a little bit less noisy for the element might have helped. I liked the big drops for the sung hook. A couple bits of the phrasing felt weird, wrong emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble sort of thing, may have been a stylistic choice but it didn't feel solid to me.

Cock: Vocal phrasing felt like it was rushing the beat a little in a lot of spots. I'm a sucker for the brooding synthpop feel you laid under the whole thing. The bits of vocal harmony in the chorus were nice touches, and the bigger change-up on that front at the end was a nice sort of Hell Yeah capstone.

New Result: Beat had me fooled at the beginning, reading the highest note in the little string loop as the one. Didn't get reoriented until the shimmery chime line came in. Intentional goofyfooting on your part or was that just me being idiosyncratic? Liked the idea of the affectless/broken vocal loop break but the execution there was kind of eh.

Berkeley Social Scene: Liked the build into the groove at the start, though a conspicuous timing wobble near the end of one of the quieter sections there distracted me for a second. Really pleased with that high slide-ish lead instrument element that came in in the middle, as well as the busy step-up about two thirds through. Lead at the tail end of the busy chorus before the outro feels like it's sort of standing off to the side and shouting HEY HEY HEY LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME though, could have been sitting farther down in the mix maybe, or just a little more restrained and less noodly in content, or both.

Sockpuppet: Heh.

The Affirmative Mention: I do not like that crash cymbal sound. That is the only complaint I could generate. Really solid production. Wouldn't have blinked hearing this on a college radio mix in the late 90s.

queef mcbeef: Loved this. Just fuckin' loved it. The quick-cut sampleplex starting about a quarter of the way in kills me, though the just-off timing of the repeated sample on the tail end of that was kind of distracting and mostly a relief when it finally faded.

Lord of Oats: that's a whole lot of reverb on the main vox, though I guess thematically it kind of works with the lyrics. Also "I want something specific" made me giggle. I don't know whether to be annoyed or pleased with the big drawn out wavering "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" thing in the middle of the song, but I definitely approve of your adventurous use of vox layering for texture in general.

Jon Eric ft. Manhattan Glutton: This is some really nice solid pop construction; melody really carries the song along well.

King Arthur: This feels like a good song that got left out in the sun for too long and dried up a little. Agreeing with previous comments re: the mix, it feels like some of the production/execution stuff is getting in the way of an otherwise solid core.

Pillar of Paprika: Liked the whole wet lushness of this, though there were a couple spots where either the vocal phrasing or a guitar/drum rhythm mismatch pulled me out of it a bit.

[Manhattan Glutton]

As always, I'm only so mean because I care. Seriously, Song Fight is the only place I find new music, and I thank you all for that.

The theme this week seemed to be: boredom and an inability to record to a metronome.

Wages - The mix could definitely be punchier/fuller. You're pretty on-key until the bridge, so I won't go into Rage Mode. Song itself is kind of boring except for the piano parts.

Bellad - Okay, the kid isn't playing the instruments, so those should be on beat at least in the intro. I like the concept... would have liked to hear some pitch... guidance. It's cute, and fun.

BSS - Same problems with intro as above... It's a pretty decent song but nothing stands out to me, so it doesn't join the ranks of the BSS songs permanently on my playlist. It's kind of boring and the lyrics are like "blah blah blah" at times because the melody is mostly 2 notes. I don't mean to get personal - it's well done, just not my thing.

Cock - The singing feels uncharacteristically off-beat for you, Mr Cock. It feels like your vocals are pushing the beat during the verse. I dig the music. Typical Cock chorus, but still catchy, as always. It kind of ends abruptly but I guess that goes with the lyrics.

Hate Noise - I've got your Hard Landing on my permanent play list. This song's pretty dope too. Pun maybe intended. The McVeigh comment made me laugh, and I'm sure the rest will as I being to unravel it. Voted.

Jon Eric - I don't think I deserved co-billing on this one, but it was a nice gesture from a swell guy. I love the bridge, and I think Jon's vocals are a ton better than I remember them, and they take exceptionally well to doubling. I'm sorry about not coming up with a better drum beat, but ah... I kept the drums down in the mix. A+ VOTE

King Arthur - The music doesn't gel very well with the panning and distorted guitar tone. Pretty chill song, reminds me of late 80s early 90s. I like the backing vocals.

Lord of 0Ats - Love the intro - it's so cheesy it works. Now I'm wondering if it's an instrumental, and it's still pretty cool. Oh hey you're Chopped Liver God - is this news to anyone else? Your slightly off tune whiny vocals don't work so great with this music - they're quite loud in the mix and piercing. Fixing the mix and maybe doubling them an octave lower could have saved it. The music is really good and interesting, though.

McWhoIzzy - Well, if there is a good place to experiment, this is it. Still getting some of your skipping audio issues like that other fight (but not as bad). You sound like a teenager rapping in the basement, and then the song ended. Where's the beef?

New Result - Aha, this again. If you just cut out the words I would at least be able to take your entries seriously as techno. I think this one's better than your other ones... or I'm just in a good mood. The talking parts are too loud and disruptive to the techno - I'm trying to pretend I'm playing Descent here.

Pillar of Paprika - Cool name, pleasant intro. I am skeptical as the synth comes in. You've got some minor timing issues. Verse is boring two chords with no melody. Chorus is kind of boring, too. Singing is mostly good, a couple sour notes here and there. Song gets a little better as it goes on. All the reverb in the world can't save you.

McBeef - I wonder if you're actually making music or if this is all samples? You know what this reminds me of? The little techno clips that play between parts of Da Ali G Show. I think you're probably getting better at whatever you're trying to do. I still don't like the name.

Queen Cigarette - WOOOOOOOOW this is loud. Decent for a garage band song/entry, nothing spectacular. The high end on this is like needles into my ears - you should have EQ'd or multiband compressed before sending this in. There's almost no low-mid frequencies. I can respect your screaming singing style but I can't tell how good it is.

Riot Nrrrds - A decent song ruined by mixing/production. What made you think panning the guitar left was a good idea? And everything sounds like it was recorded in a box. Double your guitars before you double your vocals. Also, stop singing in the basement while everyone's asleep.

Sock puppet - You needed some attention this week. Try calling your mom.

Steve Durand - Even when you add guitar and drums, your songs pretty much follow the same pattern. The chorus with harmony vocals is a welcome change, though. You could use a little EQing and production, but it's pretty good.

Tail Irene Irene - It's nice to hear a girl's voice on Song Fight. Now, some mean and brutally honest things. The vocals are low in the mix and could have used a couple more takes (off key, off beat). Maybe even doubling at some points. Definitely need harmonies at the chorus. For this kind of song, you're *really* missing the mid-low frequencies. The good: the instruments/sounds were chosen well, and you have a good intuition for song dynamics.

[sleepysilverdoor]

McBeef - I wonder if you're actually making music or if this is all samples? You know what this reminds me of? The little techno clips that play between parts of Da Ali G Show. I think you're probably getting better at whatever you're trying to do. I still don't like the name.

Anything involving the bass, drum beats, or synths is me. Whether you consider finding and arranging 80+ one word clips to be making music or not I suppose is really the answer.

And yeah, it's a stupid name, but I'm indecisive and feel like I've already entered too many times under too many different names.

[Who_Izzy]

MC Who Izzy: Gotta agree with the all-hat, no-cowboy take on the intro vs. meat thing.

I couldn't have put it better myself...and I already put it in a way i thought was the best way to put it.

[RiotNrrrds]

Nice work, everybody, and thanks for the feedback.

My votes went to Josh Millard for the great lyrics, perfect melody, heartfelt vocal performance and delightful messiness; and to Steve Durand for the cute, straightforward story and Daniel Johnston delivery.

I also really enjoyed the Berkeley Social Scene jam with its Hum-esque guitar riff and "low density humans" and Pillar of Paprika's 1992 Lush-Ride-Slowdive shoe-gaziness. Cock wasn't really my style, but I appreciated the voice and the build. Jon Eric + Manhattan Glutton had a nice well-played and well-arranged song too, although I was also thinking about Cyndi Lauper.

[RiotNrrrds]

Also, stop singing in the basement while everyone's asleep.

This is actually what happened. Ran out of time and had to record all the vocals while my roommate was asleep!

[canonicalman]

Hate noise. Your verses were uneven and not well executed but the production was decent and the geriatric rap which was just brilliant. Me and my SO were laughing along and you get a vote for being the song or bit of song that I enjoyed most this week. Great lyrics and color.

John Eric, Pillar of Paprika, and King Arthur all had decent entries but not sure I liked them enough to vote. Will need to listen more when I prepare reviews. There were good and some bad things. John Eric I was going to give a vote but I felt that the music and words shadowed a Ben Folds song a bit too closely.

There are a couple of other works that deserve some mention.

Taulrineirene you are sounding a bit better on your singing. You could still use more confidence and support but it sounds like you are moving the right direction.

Sockpuppet. i enjoyed your short, sweet, and humorous entry. Not well produced but given the subject you deserve honorable mention and may get a vote for creativity on working within the theme. I wish I had thought of this as Jury duty has been limiting my net access. You out creative me sir and that is a mark of respect!

I will try to give more reviews when I get time.

[the idiot king]

All the reverb in the world can't save you.

we'll have to agree to disagree.

kudos to my heuristics, inc.-minded co-conspirator this week. it was a pleasure, as always, to collaborate again.

[fluffy]

I wasn't really intending to do such a short stupid entry - I had a few different ideas for actual songs I wanted to do (my favorite was the idea about some physicists who invented a nearly-inertialess wheel) but I never had a chance to flesh any of them out, much less record them. Then an hour before the deadline the idea for the stupid thing I did popped into my head, and so I did it. (In actuality it took me a few minutes, not just 30 seconds, but there's about 30 seconds' worth of recording in the song).

I'd actually rather people not vote for me, since I just did it as a joke, pretty much.

I'll try to listen to and review this week's entries. I still owe a bunch of reviewing for Hello My Old Heart, though. Hey, I think this is the first time I've ever actually managed to get an entry into two subsequent fights. Maybe I'll try for an entry streak.

[JonPorobil]

Reviews! Listening on speakers, but my right ear is still a little screwy, so if I didn't like your song, you can always blame that.


The Affirmative Mention - I heard your song early. See http://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.p ... 04#p154504

Bella D - Sounds like the drums and the guitars don't agree on where the stresses fall in the beats here. Oh man, those vocals are annoying. I don't object to kid vocals on principle, but these aren't even in tune! I got maybe thirty seconds in, and couldn't stomach any more.

Berkeley Social Scene - This is straight-up 4/4, but Ken keeps throwing in random stresses in the intro that make me want to compulsively count. Don't recognize the singer on this one. Like Affirmative Mention, it sounds like you're trying to cram more words into the melody than can comfortably fit there. There's a lot of wordplay here, and some of it doesn't really work. The harmonies on the chorus fall a little sour. Glen's eBow brings an etherial sense of class to the show, as usual. By the end of the second verse, I'm checking the timer. Realizing there's another minute and a half left was not heartening. Is the b-chorus doing weird stuff in the right channel, or is it my ear? Who knows? Nice outro.

Cock - I heard your song early. See http://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.p ... 04#p154504

Hate Noise - Interesting combination of samples. But... generic hip-hop drug cliches don't play too well for me. Pretty slick package, but I can't engage with the lyrics at all. Gave up after about two minutes.

Jon Eric ft. Manhattan Glutton - I wasn't going to credit MG in the band name, but when I heard the drums and harmonies that he added, and how much it transformed the song, I didn't feel right entering it without his name on there. Sometime this week or next, I'll post my own mix. It will sound quite a bit weaker than the mix he finished. This song was pretty personal for me, lyrically, so I was glad my voice decided to cooperate when it came time to do the vocals. I guess I'll go into that more later.

Josh Millard - The tone on those hats is wack, but I'm more distracted by the fact that the drums aren't well-played. They keep falling off the rhythm. I don't mind the wordiness of your vocal delivery - unlike Affirmative Mention and Berkeley Social Scene, your wordiness feels more integral to the song. This is a charming little indie-pop song with bad drums. My wife thinks it sounds like Counting Crows, but it reminds me pretty heavily of Silkworm. Maybe vote, I dunno.

King Arthur - Is it my ear, or does this mix sound like it's coming at us from underwater? Really sweet guitar licks. Nice harmonies, too. I'm also a sucker for a well-executed Rhodes (or eqivalent synth ). I think the verse melody feels just a little too halting - I know it's important to use the space between lines effectively, but it feels like it's breaking the flow of what you're trying to say. Probably gonna vote for this.

Lord of Oats - I like how it starts off with the really dark-sounding drums, but the synths start playing a major-key line. It toes the line between appealing and aggravating with the background noise. When the vocals start, it starts sounding like a b-list They Might Be Giants imitation. I know a lot of people gravitated to the line "Hardly a moment goes by that I don't think of you," but did you have to start with that? It also sounds like you were trying to record the vocals without making too much noise, like you're holding back. When we got to that sustained vocal note in the bridge, I checked the timer, saw that there were two minutes left, and then skipped ahead.

MC Who Izzy - Not bad, with the ambient opening. Then the music drops out and segues into this echoey preacher-man skit, which bores me. Then, at 1:43, with a minute left in the song, it actually starts. Oof, you and Lord of Oats both had to start with the most obvious line available, eh? And then it doesn't end, so much as it just stops. Oh well.

New Result - At about 1:30, I realized I had nothing to say about this. Wasn't enjoying it, either, so I skipped ahead.

Pillar of Paprika - This is reminding me of some Byrne/Eno tracks with the buzzy synth ambience. Well-sung, too. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, when it comes right down to it, but I really like this, and I will vote for it. Probably my favorite of the fight.

Queef McBeef - What in the world am I listening to? This all ties together in a way that I recognize takes a lot of skill to pull off well, but I'm not really getting into it. Plus: title relevance?

Queen Cigarette - You tagged your song, but didn't put your band name in the tag, just the title... and misspelled at that. Alright, getting past my grammar snobbery (and the fact that I had to turn down my speakers just to make this listenable at all), and I'm actually hearing some halfway decent early-90s garage band pop. I'll give it another listen, probably, but I think this'll get a vote from me.

Riot Nrrrds - I dunno, when I saw the name, I was expecting something a little more like what Queen Cigarette did. Heh. Oh well, for what this is, it's not bad. The emphasis harmonies add a lot, but it feels like you're holding back, vocally, which is exacerbated by the fact that the guitar is mixed too loud. I can barely make out the lyrics most of the time. I would have liked if the synth solo had more than, like, three notes. It could have reprised the verse melody and I wouldn't have minded. Oh well. This has potential. Post your lyrics, and I might consider voting, if I like them.

Sockpuppet - It is what it is. I doubt a review from me could tell you anything you didn't already know. Plus, it took me longer to type this than it did to listen to it.

Steve Durand - Are you playing your own drums now? They sound live. This is a genre I don't expect from you. I like the chord progression over the "chorus." I think this track needed one more guitar playing some lead licks, just to add that extra oomph. Or some harmonies over the verses - not like in the chorus, but some "Oooh"s or "Ooh la la" type deals.

Tailirine Irene - Mix the vocals a little louder (or rather, the rest of the song a little bit softer), because I can't make out most of your lyrics. Sounds like you've got some halfway-decent flow. Flow doesn't really mean much if you're not saying interesting stuff, though, and I really can't tell what you're rapping about. The music sounds pretty good, but it sounds pre-fab. Is this just a built-in Garageband loop? I've never used Garageband, so I don't know. Oh well. This is pretty middle-of-the-road. Any better and I might have voted. Any worse and I'd probably have panned it. As it is, you just haven't inspired me into having an opinion at all.

Votes go to Cock, Josh, Pillar of Paprika, Queen Cigarette, and myself. If Riot Nrrrds post their lyrics, I'll think about voting for them too.

[joshmillard]

Josh Millard - The tone on those hats is wack, but I'm more distracted by the fact that the drums aren't well-played. They keep falling off the rhythm.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm still pretty new to drums, got this kit about a year ago, but even beyond my own pretty questionable timing this was rushed to death and there are some huge problems. I've been trying to play against a click when I lay down drums lately, and that helps a lot, but in this case I didn't have time to bounce out a metronome track and the internal click in Garageband is so pathetically quiet and untweakable that I just plain lost track of it a few times during drum tracking.

[reve]

Hello, friends. I thought this was a pretty strong week! Everyone did a great job. I'm still unsure as to who I'll be voting for, but I figured I'd parcel out a few comments up front.

Anyway, you probably already know your song's strengths and weaknesses so I won't mention them unless I feel particularly strongly or I feel the advice is non-obvious. Artist names are represented as anagrams because I am cruel.

Effeminate Trivia Month
Lush-ous. I think it's a little bassy though. That seems to be production de jour though; I'm just representin'.

Eat Thine Hose
Even better than the already strong last few.

Rec Join & Mutant Talon Thong
The doubled vocals are often too loose -- at least in headphones. But other than that, your song is stronger than usual and Mutant Talon Thong's production is im-pecc-a-ble.

Jam Dish Roll
This rocks and has fantastic energy. You probably know you need to rerecord the drums. Hey, have you ever listened to The Paper Chase? You could pull that kinda thing off.

Dorsal Foot
This was awesome. My two observations would be that I would like to have a midrange synth come in at the chorus -- simply to give it that bite. Also, your song really ended at ~3 minutes. I think it would have been stronger if it just stopped dead at 3:20.

Tween Slur
It's really, really hard to get past the repetitive speech synthesis.

Emcee "Que BFF?"
Quality again, my friend. Do you like The Soft. Pink. Truth.?

Nude Adverts
As usual, one of the best songs musically.

[Ryan]

Useful feedback so far. Thanks everyone. So, I'm getting the feeling that BSS will have to live to rock another day. Adjusting my expectations down to "at least it holds together as a song" status. Perhaps I can start writing something fresh now so we can save valuable group get-together time for more arrangement. The songfight format from prompt to post is sort of how a band (that practices once or twice a week) might develop a song enough to record it and listen back to further refine it- but instead of editing it, I assume many Songfight participants move on the the next prompt. Has there ever been a "re:songfight" where another week is given to edit and incorporate salient feedback from reviews into a second version of the song? How do folks feel about that? Might be neat.