millions of nickels (If I Had One Reviews)

[GrahamParry]

J Mann - Excellent. Really well written song - no much else to say. One of my favourites.

Shamanizer - Like the intro until the distorted guitar really kicks in - too out of time with the loop underneath.

BGM - Great start with the elevator music feel, cool groove, really like your voice and the lyrics. Some nice chord changes too.

BBaBM - Not my sort of thing, music is ok but the samples don't do anything for me. Found it too repetitive.

King Arthur - Again, not my usual sort of taste in music. However on this track I can appreciate good production and a well written song. Great harmonies.

Tibor - I like it. Retro, sounds like music for an old NES game or something before the vocal. Then when the vocal comes in I'm not liking it. Too eighties but not in a tongue in cheek way and there are some tuning issues.

EggNogAdam - I like the lyrics and the bluesy feel, not so keen on the amount of delay on vocals.

S Cricket - Reminds me of an old Ben Folds Five demo of a Cake cover but with Brandon Flowers singing. That's a good thing.

C Parrot - Movie soundtrack stuff going on here, like the piano, not sure about the solo instrument - perhaps a violin might work better with the cello underneath? Goes on too long for my liking.

Folk You - I like the production on this, reminds me of that guy who sang "Oxygen" Willie something I think.

BSS - Brilliant, well written song. I like the vocal - really raw and the guitar solo is very cool. Chords underneath it have some cool changes.

Hip Hop - I think this is great. Some excellent little intonation things going on with your voice and the brass is great when it comes in. Another favourite.

Daring Front - Good intro. Drums are great with the little bit of delay and there are some brilliant synth samples. I really like your voice and the lyrics. This is in my top three easily. I'd buy an album on the back of hearing this one song.

DJ R D - Not sure about this - vocal needs to be louder but only slightly. Need to listen a few more times. Some lovely piano chords going on here. It's a grower...

[lalabrookie]

by Spud » Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:26 pm

Tibor wrote:
I just got an idea... what if the voting system would be changed like...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh. Sorry.


OK, this cracked me up. I work in customer service and this is exactly the reaction I have when people say "I have an idea. Why don't you just work on delivering our parts on time? Then we won't have this problem.." hehe Thanks for the laugh!

And can I just say who cares about votes?? Let's just have fun!! Once I get paid for votes, I will start coveting them.

And I should warn you all... I got my computer back today so prepared to be tortured in the next fight by my next mediocre song recorded with my sub-mediocre equipment/production method!!!! Tell all your friends...VOTE FOR ME!!!!

[SchlimminyCricket]

S Cricket - Reminds me of an old Ben Folds Five demo of a Cake cover but with Brandon Flowers singing. That's a good thing.

There are so many compliments in this sentence that I can't even begin to thank you. Not what I was going for, but that's amazing to hear.

[inevitableguy]

Once I get paid for votes, I will start coveting them.

You mean you haven't received your check yet?

[FOLK YOU]

After listening to bad boys @ on my better stereo w/ sub woof it is a lot more interesting. It scared my cats. I should have taken your advise from the start. I thought head phones would have been sufficient, but alas I was mistaken. I would wear your shirt. Thanks for your kind words.

[eggnogadam]

Are we supposed to review if we submit?? Damn it! I never realized that!

G Parry - awesome!
J mann - I swear this would be a song that Beck or Cake could pull off!
C Parrot - Wow. I don't know if that's synthed or real, but I like it. Classy.
Dar Front - The vocal rhythms are interesting and I will be downloading this song.
BGM - Wed Anderson called. he wants this song in a movie that he's making about quirky people in a foreign place. Inspired!
Schlimm - The silent Film era could have used this piece. I loved it!
Hip Hop - I love that I can HEAR your vocals! keep it up. "Pascal." hahahaha.
King Arthur - Man. My wife, a born-again hippy, asked me if I was listening to a Grateful Dead song. Nice!

Folk You - The middle of this piece was very nice!


About my song - Yea, the "spoken word" is a news announcer, the reverb was rough on purpose (sorry, it's just what I wanted to do) and I just couldn't believe how much this song made me smile.

[bartok2112]

C Parrot - Wow. I don't know if that's synthed or real, but I like it. Classy.

Thanks for the compliment. The piano and string sounds are synths, a Kurzweil PC88 and a Roland D550. The soprano saxophone is real.

- Paul

[jast]

Are we supposed to review if we submit?? Damn it! I never realized that!

There is no obligation, but of course (most of) the other musicians will appreciate it.

[BBABM]

After listening to bad boys @ on my better stereo w/ sub woof it is a lot more interesting. It scared my cats.. I would wear your shirt.

hahaha.... My dog wouldnt come in the room while I was working it.... Really really low, with literally no mids to tell you it's even there. You either hear it or you don't... Kinda weird. Thanks for giving it a second chance!

P.s. Just message me an address to send it to... I'm a weirdo, so I would understand not giving out your home address. if you'll wear it, it's yours!

[FOLK YOU]

Is there a iPhone app for song fight? Or a facebook page?

[Tibor]

Is there a iPhone app for song fight? Or a facebook page?

I believe you can subscribe to the podcast from your iPhone.
I can tell you how to do that from your computer.
By using iTunes, you subscribe to the songfight feed (chose podcasts on the left side, then in the menu choose advanced / subscribe to podcast then enter the podcast feed url http://www.songfight.org/podcast/songfight.rss)
After that choose in iTunes sync options to sync the podcast to your iPhone.

[Tibor]

Are we supposed to review if we submit?? Damn it! I never realized that!

No... better than that, we are supposed to review if we vote

[BBABM]

Are we supposed to review if we submit??.

not required, I just like to hear what other people think... I guess I was a little abrasive. I'm not good enough yet to actually expect to win, so when it comes down to it the reviews of my boring songs is all I have. Plus it's nice to know why someone didn't vote for you (or why they did)... I think I listen to the songs more seriously when I plan on telling someone what I like/dislike about their song. And I kinda like being a critic, and I feel bad telling someone they suck when they don't take the opportunity to tell me the same. My music has gotten 100x better in the short time that I've been here (debatable) and I owe it all to the other folks here telling me how I can make it better.

My entry this week is pretty boring, and I didn't really expect any deep gems of realization to come out of someones review in this thread... But you never know

[eggnogadam]

good to know. Reviewing if voting seems logical.


and YEA, an app for this would be killer!

I wish there was an app for www.hsx.com too, as that is what I play during my lunch hour.

[Tibor]

And can I just say who cares about votes?? Let's just have fun!!

You are absolutely right. Lost the focus a little bit. Good to have it back.

[HipHopAnon]

Bad Boys at Bat Mitzvahs - If you are sampling the vocal clip, I would like to hear more of it interspered. I like the groove, but I am not pleased by the gunshots or the weird growl at the end. it seems to embody what you were intending, the polyrhythms are interesting.

Berkeley Social Scene - The British punk thing is not my cup of tea. The vocals for the first two verses are acceptable but the screaming of the chorus and the off key third verse is a bit rough. The instrumentation is nothing special, but it is done well. The last chorus you try to do an "echo" on the vocals that doesn't work; echoing two or three more times each time might work a little better.

BGM - I like the vocal harmonies, although the justxaposition of the bouncy tuba against the sad vocals is a bit weird for me. On the whole it's pretty catchy, but the last line of the chorus makes me cringe.

cannibal parrot - Simple and elegant. There is a little bit of weirdness with the piano and sax doing different melodic things during the crescendo. I felt the vocal introduction was not needed. There should be more tension during the moment of crazy sax flourishes near the end.

Daring Front - I like the instrumental track but the vocal track doesn't feel like it fits well. I like the rhythm of the chorus and I think if the instrumental changed up it would be much better. You need to make it feel BIG! since that is the most important part of the song.

DJ Ranger Den - I like the voice and most of the piano. It gets a little muddy at points which distracts from the pretty voice. Your timing also feels a little loose.

Eggnog Adam - Too much echo on the vocals, the voice-over is a bit out of place (including the outro), the writing is reasonably lazy. The redeaming quality is silliness.

Folk You - The area you're recoding has much too much echo. Keep in mind your vocal range, the pitch change is quite cringe-worthy. I like the folky verses where you don't try to "sing." The guitar solo should be placed later in the song. The harmonica needs definite work. The guitar in the left starting the verse is a little odd. Your voice isn't strong enough for the chorus at the end.

Graham Parry - There is something really strange with the quality, some sort of constant virbrato constantly hurts. It ends quite abruptly. I can't provide any good criticism with that hurtful quality issue.

Jonathan Mann - I think the vocals would work better if you were more emphatic. The choice of instruments is a bit weird, specifically I don't like the banjo in the chorus. Nothing specifically stood out in this song.

King Arthur - I like the country feel of the instrumentation and the verse vocals, but I don't like the chorus vocals. The second half the chorus doesn't fit well after you have a small cadence at the end of the first four lines.

Schlimminy Cricket - Disregarding the low quality recording, your voice isn't melodic enough for what you're trying to do. The sound of the upright piano is too repeatitive and could use some sustain on the lower notes. I do, however, enjoy the accordian solo and the song might be better without the piano entirely!

Shamanizer - The lead guitar is way too messy. Also, why did I have to wait 1:13 before something happened? I am not pleased by the vocals, the lyrics or the music. The rhythm guitar does weird things every once in a while and I can't tell if that's intentional. The song is two minutes longer than it should be.

Tibor - There is too much distortion, perhaps from being too loud? The intro was a bit long, the vocals are adequate. The lyrics are a bit lame and be careful of the harmonies.

[BBABM]

Bad Boys at Bat Mitzvahs - If you are sampling the vocal clip, I would like to hear more of it... I am not pleased by the gunshots or the weird growl at the end.

I am still trying to learn fruity loops, and failed several times to mess with the sample. I would like to hear more too. The growl is actually going through basically the entire song... I felt the gunshots, for lack of better sample, were needed to break up the monotony, and signify the slight changes. Was it the fact it was a gunshot, or was it that particular gunshot sample?

Thanks for the review!

[bgm]

Thanks for the reviews!

I'm a sucker for cheesy synth and blatantly fake drums, and there are certainly those here, and the melody is pop at its sweetest. To me this feels like if Fountains of Wayne got trapped inside a Casio.

it sounds like an auto song off my old casio keyboard

The Casio comments are cool, I hadn't thought of that. The canned drums and 3 or 4 organ tracks come from this old Yamaha organ I found on the curb one day last year when I was running, someone was throwing it out. I ran home and came back with the car and dumped it into the trunk. It's covered with cigarette burns and the keys are masking-tape-labelled with the notes. Our house smelled like a legion hall for about a week after I brought it in but I like it a lot. It has these canned rhythms ("Fun Blocks!") that you can combine and mix up, which is probably where the Casio vibe comes from.
Then I fleshed out the recording with some real drums, Moog bass line, acoustic guitar and various other stuff.

On the whole it's pretty catchy, but the last line of the chorus makes me cringe

I'm wondering what about that particular line is cringeworthy for you. The line I cringed at was "why do I try to make you like me." Awful. I always write lyrics last and I always sort of dread it. Usually I just want to get it over with. Especially on a deadline like with Songfight.
But it's fun to not over-edit stuff and just let it go even if it makes you squirm a bit.
If you love something, set it free...

[BBABM]

It has these canned rhythms ("Fun Blocks!") that you can combine and mix up, which is probably where the Casio vibe comes from.

wow, what a crazy find... That thing is even older than the keyboard I was speaking of. I assume the buttons give you some sort of accompaniment type thing depending on what note you play lower on the keyboard. It sounded exactly like that was what it was.

The line I cringed at was "why do I try to make you like me." Awful.

I actually liked that line. Plucked the old heart string, it was like he was thinking it wasn't even worth trying any more, and I was all "NO, buddy! Don't give up! you'll make friends, I promise! Those kids are dicks." they were super cheesy, and that may make some people cringe, I thought it was cute.

[bgm]

I assume the buttons give you some sort of accompaniment type thing depending on what note you play lower on the keyboard.

Exactly. The lower keyboard is the bass. The "SINGLE FINGERED CHORD" button just plays a major chord when you hold down a key on that lower keyboard, or the "FINGERED CHORD" button will do an arpeggio up and down any chord formation you actually play and hold; major, minor, 7th, whatever...all synced up to that fat, corny beat. I'm sort of a sucker for those canned, Rhythm Ace-like beats; it's like 1970's-grandparents'-living-room-disco or something. And I like embellishing the canned drums with live drums. I used it on another song, a while ago.

I actually liked that line. Plucked the old heart string, it was like he was thinking it wasn't even worth trying any more, and I was all "NO, buddy! Don't give up! you'll make friends, I promise! Those kids are dicks." they were super cheesy, and that may make some people cringe, I thought it was cute.

Heh, thanks. Cheesy and sappy I have a handle on, for sure.

[HipHopAnon]

BBM and BGM
I'm too lazy to quote but in response to your responses:

BBM - I didn't think gunshots fit with anything else. If there was more vocal stuff in there they would probably fit much better. You shouldn't need those clips signify small chnanges, perhaps you can let the music stand for itself and use the shots for Emphasis. They could be very effectively used at a cadence to prepare for a larger change.

BGM - "Why do I try.." is fine, it leads up to the next line which gives significant structure to the end of the verse. My concern is with "sleeping bags." The rhythm of the phrase is unlike anything else in the chorus and takes you out of the "flow." Your first six lines of the chorus have the fun-day one-away done-stay going for it and you throw it off with "bags." Keep it simple and throw another "ay" on the end and the chorus will be much more catchy and flow better into the next verse. You can keep the "sleeping bags" but you need to make it expected in some fashion or it's just too different.

[Spintown]

http://spintown79.blogspot.com/2011/05/ ... d-one.html

bgm - Dang, another good yet depressing song. What makes this my favorite song of the fight is the vocals. They just sound so sad & pitiful.

Hip Hop Anonymous - Not much musically, but the performance & lyrics kept me into the song. This is a good example of why I want rap included in SpinTunes. After 2 contests we still haven't had any rappers compete. Well done, you get a vote.

King Arthur - I've listened to this 5 times and can't think of anything bad to say. There's plenty of positives, but stuff I always say about your entries. Love the story telling, performance, etc... So...I'm voting...now moving on.

Graham Parry - I would imagine it's tough to write a good sad song. I think you've done it. I don't know what it is exactly, but your songs take me back a couple decades.

Daring Front - Found the music really interesting, and loved the lyrics. Didn't care for the chorus much, but enjoyed the vocals throughout.

DJ Ranger Den - Vocals are way to low in the mix, but on the bright side I'm pretty sure I understood your lyrics for a change. Remix, do another recording or whatever it is you need to do to get louder...but it's getting a vote even as is.

Berkeley Social Scene - The vocals weren't great, but good enough. The levels were good, which is often something I complain about. The track was just too freakin' long. The lyrics were sparse, and even though I thought it was a good song, it wasn't good enough to hold my interest for well over 5 minutes.

EggNogAdam - Kinda cute I guess. Everyone wants a dinosaur at some point. I enjoyed the simple music & the vocal performance was good. It felt a little odd because the subject matter & lyrics didn't really match the mood of the music.

Jonathan Mann - Nice performance & as usual with your entries the production is great. Lyrically I just didn't get into the song, but it's a solid entry. In a normal fight this would have got my vote, but in my opinion, this was a tougher than average fight.

Tibor - 1 minute is too long for me to wait for the lyrics to start. Once they did I found them pretty dull & too repetitive. Have enjoyed your other recent entries more.