I hope these songs are ... (Better than Before reviews)

[Ross]

Takes a long time to get to the build up and then when it comes, it doesn't last long

Really? you're going to leave us THAT opening?

[Caravan Ray]

Reviews

One song at a time


Micah Sommer

Nice song. Others have mentioned the vocal recording problem. Like the idea of extra voices coming in at the end, though it was done a bit messily

[Caravan Ray]

Takes a long time to get to the build up and then when it comes, it doesn't last long

Really? you're going to leave us THAT opening?

FFS Ross. We are discussing music here. Keep your mind on the job.

[Caravan Ray]

Reviews

One song at a time


Sockpuppet

Cheer up emo kid. This is very good. The vocals suck, but otherwise I like this very much. It needs a change of some type somewhere - maybe a bridge or just breakdown - we get that nice string thing at about 2:38 which is good but brief - but otherwise very nice.

[Caravan Ray]

This is the worst review thread I've seen in a long time.

I'd write actual reviews but I'm not sure what to say about most of the songs, so here's the SoundOut reviews for my track:

The average rating of your track: 5.6 /10

Eat my dust Sockboy

SoundOut Report

The average rating of your track: 5.7 /10

[Caravan Ray]

So summing up:

I will be delivering votes to - in no particular order:
Ross Durand
King Arthur
Radio Show
Sockpuppet
Smashy Claw

[Ross]

This is the worst review thread I've seen in a long time.

I'd write actual reviews but I'm not sure what to say about most of the songs, so here's the SoundOut reviews for my track:

The average rating of your track: 5.6 /10

Eat my dust Sockboy

SoundOut Report

The average rating of your track: 5.7 /10

I'm not even submitting, can you imagine what the "hit potential" of my track is?

[Caravan Ray]

Eat my dust Sockboy

SoundOut Report

The average rating of your track: 5.7 /10

I'm not even submitting, can you imagine what the "hit potential" of my track is?

No, I cannot imagine. Only the gurus at Soundout have that amazing clairvoyant ability

[Caravan Ray]

Reviews

One song ata a time

Mostly drunk


Billy ant the pstychotocs

Awesomesome sonds\\

Great lead vocal;ls

SHIT SONG

where is the fucking hook?

THis soundx like matchbox 20s little sister

DO BETTER\\
]

BTW - I did review this review - I thought I may not given the song a fair hearing at the time.

But no - it turns out I was 100% right. Production and performance are excellent. Song is boring. No vote.

[Paco Del Stinko]

weird. YMMV, no warranties are offered.

Certainly not a complaint on my part, just a comment. I think it's a great idea and hope that maybe somehow I'm a dope. Wait a minute...

Ross: Were you telling me to mic the guitar on your review of my song? Indeed, I both mic'd and recorded it direct. Perhaps more mic in the mix, less direct. My main acoustic is a J-160E.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Reviews

One song ata a time

Mostly drunk


Billy ant the pstychotocs

Awesomesome sonds\\

Great lead vocal;ls

SHIT SONG

where is the fucking hook?

THis soundx like matchbox 20s little sister

DO BETTER\\
]

BTW - I did review this review - I thought I may not given the song a fair hearing at the time.

But no - it turns out I was 100% right. Production and performance are excellent. Song is boring. No vote.

Your vagina is boring.

....and you have small boobs.

[Lunkhead]

Berkeley Social SceneHeadphone listen reveals drummers perspective on the mix, I'm an audience member perspective guy. Just sayin'.

Wow, good ears. I set up a stereo pair of overheads even though Ken advised me it's not really worth the bother and the potential phase issues, etc. I didn't really notice much stereo separation in the overheads when mixing the song though so I didn't even think about the left/right positions. I don't think I checked it on headphones, oops. I may upload a version that has the overheads flipped and has Martin's vocals tuned up in case anybody cares...

[Paco Del Stinko]

Well, mixer's choice I think, Lunk. Hi-hat on the left and all that makes it easier for (most) air drummers!

[Ross]

Thanks for the reviews, everyone. First I just want to say how much I appreciate not getting ripped for focussing on GnG. When I first started submitting to the site nearly seven years ago, there seemed to be a pretty hostile attitude towards the idiom, but it really is a sort of passion of mine - "what I do" for lack of a better phrase, so I totally appreciate that it is being given a fair shake, and not being dismissed.

Now some answers, I'm terrible at the multiple quote in a quote thing, so I will resort to the @ convention.

@longefellow street - I guess I'd have to call the vocal twang an unintentional affectation. That's not how I talk, but it comes from a lot of the music I have listened to for so long, so it comes out on certain kinds of songs without me making a conscious choise to inflect that way. It's probably kinda like why the british bands didn't have a british accent when they sang Chuck Berry.

@Hillbilly - it's a Guild

@paco - yeah, I was saying to mic your guitar. I'd go all mic, no direct if I were you, that's a sweet guitar, let's hear what it really sounds like! (except then I'll no longer be your favorite acoustic guitar sound on songfight)

@C-ray - I know what you mean about the vocal sound, it's interesting because I almost always record guitar and vocal "live" - so they were absolutely in the same place. In fact that's probably one of the reasons for the resulting sound. If a fair amount of the vocal gets picked up by the guitar mic and the guitar is quiet, as it is on this song, I ended up pushing the guitar up in the mix, this also pushes up a more distantly recorded vocal, off the center of that mic's cardiod pattern. That makes the thing sound distant (and also affected by the guitar eq). Additionally, I waited till quite late in the game to record and mix this song, so if I had had more time I may have been able to tweak that a bit.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Well, mixer's choice I think, Lunk. Hi-hat on the left and all that makes it easier for (most) air drummers!

Air drummers get confused playing to Bill Bruford, lol. A remote right side or center hi-hat really makes for some confusion, but sounds awesome in the mix.

[Caravan Ray]

It's probably kinda like why the british bands didn't have a british accent when they sang Chuck Berry..

That is a constant source of frustration for me. The sad fact is that rock and roll generally sounds better with an American accent. Seppos invented it after all. I often have to stop and make a conscious decision of how to sing words like "glass" "laugh" "command" etc. - do I sing them as I way them - or Americanise them so they don't jar the listener. In this weeks song - though I "rap" in my natural voice, the chorus contains the word "last" - which is essentially impossible to sing the way I would normally pronounce it.

[fluffy]

Okay, based on the reviews I've made a few subtle and a couple not-so-subtle changes to the mix and drum program, at http://sockpuppet.us/songs/sockpuppet-btb-mix2.mp3

I can't do anything about the crappy vocals because I'm still sick (I wanted to do a few more vocal takes to begin with but that's when I got sick, but hopefully soon I'll be better than before).

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Okay, based on the reviews I've made a few subtle and a couple not-so-subtle changes to the mix and drum program, at http://sockpuppet.us/songs/sockpuppet-btb-mix2.mp3

I can't do anything about the crappy vocals because I'm still sick (I wanted to do a few more vocal takes to begin with but that's when I got sick, but hopefully soon I'll be better than before).

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

It's definitely better than beef ore.

[king_arthur]

Since I haven't been doing cover art lately, here's some first impression reviews:

Smashy Claw: nice rocker intro, really good bass tone. I’d prefer a fuller tone on the vocal, but it fits into the track… mixed feelings about the toy piano bits, too, but overall, very well done. Vote.

Radio Show: I’d be happier without the tremolo / panning business on the guitar(s). Vocal is wonderful, overall sound is very nice. Vote.

Paco del Stinko: After the full sound of Radio Show, I’m wishing there was more bottom end happening at the start of this one. Like the breakdown at 1:38, nice dynamic variation. Lyrically, it doesn’t seem like it goes anywhere. When the bass comes in at 2:35 or so, very nice sound, and nice guitar solo at the end. Ending seems a bit abrupt.

Sockpuppet: Cello part is very nice. 3/4 beat gets a little bit overwhelming by the end, maybe the drum part needs to vary things more, find something with more holes in it that still supports the beat? On the “she said she would” bits, it seems like the melody is fighting the chords, especially the first (?) time it comes in around 1:42. Feels like it’s fading out around 2:05.

Infinity Point Buck: not really my thing musically… and the story line isn’t interesting enough to me to overcome that.

Berkeley Social Scene: okay, have to figure out this oddball rhythm, lessee, what’s going on here? It sounds like the singer hasn’t quite figured it out in a couple spots, although overall it’s pretty well sung.

Caravan Ray: lead guitar doesn’t seem to me like it understands what notes it should be playing. Interesting how the Australian accent appears in v2…

Ross Durand: I like the fact that this is a grown-up lyric. Very Dylan-ish (or Simon & Garfunkel-y), but I’m sure everybody’s mentioned that, and it’s not a bad thing. Good story line, and well-told. Vote.

Micah Sommer: seeing that this is only 1:51 long, a 30 second intro seemed like too much… feels to me like you’re singing this out of your range, and I think I’d like this better sung by a voice that didn’t sound like it was on the edge of cracking. The hippie-dippy music fits with the lyric, yet something about this just doesn’t feel like it works for me.

Billy And The Psychotics: difference between the two-note bit on the intro and then the wall of sound that comes in was a bit much. Hoping it doesn’t just go on I-V-IV for the whole song. Okay, there, it does get interesting on the bridge. Coming back out of the bridge, might have helped to run a line or two of intro so that the singer came back more in time with the instruments. With the ABAB rhyme scheme on the verses and AABB on the bridge, the ‘blank verse’ nature of the chorus leaves me wanting a chorus that really grabs and sticks in the memory.

King Arthur: as mentioned in the prefight thread, I was aiming for prePepper Beatles on this, so it’s interesting that I got several “early seventies” comments. Also that nobody called me on the whole “you belong to me” vibe, but maybe in this age of “all my bitches” that’s not a problem any more.

Sonofsupercar: general out-of-tuneness of the instruments doesn’t thrill me… vocals are good, wishing the lyrics had been posted ‘cause it’s hard to figure out the story just hearing. “Start out in wetsuits, end up in the drool” is pretty clever, though.

[codywalkerjr]

Hey Cody,

I think I might have been thinking of "I Don't Mind At All" by Boureois Tagg.

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri= ... kWhvBlzovo

OK I hear where you are going with that. cool tune. never heard it before..

[blue]

It's probably kinda like why the british bands didn't have a british accent when they sang Chuck Berry..

That is a constant source of frustration for me. The sad fact is that rock and roll generally sounds better with an American accent. Seppos invented it after all. I often have to stop and make a conscious decision of how to sing words like "glass" "laugh" "command" etc. - do I sing them as I way them - or Americanise them so they don't jar the listener. In this weeks song - though I "rap" in my natural voice, the chorus contains the word "last" - which is essentially impossible to sing the way I would normally pronounce it.

Rock songs in non-'murkin accents are very compelling. Let your exotic nature shine through!

[Jim of Seattle]

Reviews. Veryu solid fight indeed. Most everyone got a vote. I haven't read any of the reviews posted here already, so apologies in advance if I bring up something that's already been dissected to death on this forum. If your band name is bolded, you got my vote

Berkely Social Scene
The riff reminds me of Led Zeppelin of course, and the band sounds so great and tight. The lead vocal could use some Auto-Tune and post-beefing up, but definitely solid song.

Billy and the Psychotics
The singer sounds much better on the chorus than the verses. She belts it out and everything clicks. When the band lays back and she sings more gently, it doesn't work as well. That chromatic shift in the bridge is so sweet (1:42 and 1:52) makes I want to rush out and put on "Jagged Little Pill". Delicious.

Caravay Ray
Neat-o. Suffers from terminal demo-itis, though. Needs bigger bass and bigger high-ends. Bithin' catchy chorus though. I like how the guitar is kind of mimicking the patter of the chorus. Actually, the chorus is terrific, the verse kind of so-so. The chorus builds up such great energy, and all the air comes out of it during the verses. Fortunately you end with lots of repeats of the chorus, so I come away with a hppay impression. Anyway, this is good.

Infinity Point Buck
Ha, I JUST NOW got the joke of your band name. I don't know how often a band name has made me actually laugh out loud. But sadly, you lose huge points when you promote yourself in your song. It's something I hate. There's not enough high-end information here, and the song has a really Garage Band-y vibe. Not so great.

King Arthur
The D and A chords in this progression are SO you. I was streaming the fight during work and not looking at who was playing; I first thought "Ooh, minor iii chord, nice", but as soon as the D and A came I was "Oh, KA". Lovely as usual. Your work is so consistent that winning or losing fights is much more a matter of the level of competition than the quality of your song. Scientists could calibrate precision instruments using the quality of your songs to measure against.

Micah Sommer
This is ok, but you have a long way to go with this song before it's ready for prime time. The same two chords back and forth gets mind-numbing. You should experiment with other harmonic ideas and see how they feel. You sort of have a verse-chorus structure, but not really. I'm forgiving you the synthy quality and poor vocal mic because maybe you can't afford all the fancy equipment. But before you go out and improve that part of your work, try learning a little more about what makes songs work. You have a good energy and can sing and do have some good ideas in here.

Paco del Stinko
This is cool. Interested why you chose to leave drums out of this, because I found myself missing it by about 1:20. This seems to be a pattern in this fight. Vocals work better when you let loose for the metal part at the end. It's funny, on TV these singers always sing with their mouth right up next to the mic, which looks cool, but in recordings, it sounds way better when you step back a bit. Anyway, nifty song.

Radio Show
This is the most natural-sounding 7/4 I've ever heard. Best vocal in the fight. The panning effect is distracting on headphones. I would have added some background vocals (humming) right at 2:21. Not saying you should have, just saying I heard it there. Excellent job. Great singer. Decent enough song.

Ross Durand
This is very nice and I like the heartfelt performance. It stands out in this fight because of its simplicity and straightforward delivery. Of course, a few more vocal takes to get it "just right" would be nice. Ultimately, I find myself wishing it were about something a little more specific. I think you were leaving it open-ended to make it more universal, and I get that, but the lyrics lack specific imagery for me to latch onto, which might have lent the song more emotional heft. Still, good job.

Smashy Claw
Band sounds great, like the lead vocalist a lot, and a lot of details in the arrangement that I appreciate. Nothing not to like here. Leaves me a little cold, and a few lyrics are non-rock clumsy ("get that IQ to climb", for example). Did you try singing up an octave for the last verse maybe? I wonder what that would sound like.

Sockpuppet
I'm a total sucker for gutsy harmony choices. Points for that right away. And not only is the cello an unusual choice, it seems right. The glock or whatever could be brought up a bit. There is so much territory you can travel with this fascinating chord progression, I'm jealous. You squander the opportunity a bit, but so what, it's cool anyway. Yet again, the problem is the lead vocal. I wouldn't fire you, because I think you can kill the song. Step back a foot and let loose a little more. Fun song.

sonofsupercar
First few times through I didn't like this one, despite its groovy jangly weirdness. But every time it came up in the playlist it said to me "I'm not changing for you" and I had to give it its due. So now I like it. But it took about 3-4 listens to get there. What this song could really you use is a punchier recording and some stereo spread. Good, though.