Nur Ein X Round One "The Average Circus"

[glennny]

tomorrow morning is results morning if its like last week.
tonight is listening party if its like last week, which it isn't.
if anyone wants to chat about the songs tell me where to go chat, but you already know my opinions.

[Ross]

"Stoned hippy uncle..." Is that a good thing?

[JonPorobil]

tomorrow morning is results morning if its like last week.
tonight is listening party if its like last week, which it isn't.
if anyone wants to chat about the songs tell me where to go chat, but you already know my opinions.

Sorry about the lack of listening party. We'll see about next week.

Chat is here: http://jan-krueger.net/sf-irc
Or, if you're more technically inclined, you can point an IRC client to irc.mibbit.net, then join #songfight! (note the exlamation point) to get to the exact same room.
It's open twenty-four/seven. Wander in and start typing people's names if there doesn't seem to be a conversation happening.

BTW, I'd like to have results up tonight, but there is one straggling judge. I'll say this much: you're still in the running.

[JonPorobil]

All right, it's confirmed that there won't be results until tomorrow morning. If you were waiting up, go get some sleep. I apologize for the delay.

NUR EIN!

[BoffoYux]

It looks like Boffo Yux Dudes are officially out Thank you for all the fine songs. You guys are bringing it to the table for Nur Ein X!

Special congrats to DJ Ranger Den for the top spot and immunity this one. Great tune.

Looking forward to hearing who wins this one. Lots of good music coming up in the next 5 weeks.

Tom

[johndisk0]

Round 1 TOTALS
9th Place (tie) - 73 - Paco "Who The Hell Is Nick Soma?" del Stinko

LOL

-jd0

[chocolatechips]

my favorite five (alphabetically...)

Carlo Bruno Jr --- such tight musicianship but it also all sounds like a whole lot of fun (not clinical.) great mix/atmosphere.

Cavedwellers --- lots of catchy bits, I really like that guitar riff that comes in during the verses (and is played later in other ways). that may be my favorite musical bit in the whole fight.

DJ Ranger Den --- I can hear why you won the round ... great mix. (excellent) vocals up front as they should be with this kind of song but there's plenty going on around to keep me interested. the lyrics kept me interested (and that rarely happens for me on early listens to anything.)

Inflatable Vegetables --- great lyrics, really catchy melodies, fun circus atmosphere.

Touched by... --- reminds me of The Lonely Island. I'm putting it in my top five for the sound more than the lyrics - it's a great mix/production.

[Lunkhead]

I hope nobody took offense at my song (except maybe at how juvenile and ill-advised it was). In case it's not clear to anyone, I did not mean any of the things I said in it, it was all a goof. If I did piss you off, I apologize.

That being said, for my first time rapping, I felt like it could have gone worse. And for anybody who didn't know, the background music and samples are all from the first "Avengers: Age of Ultron" trailer:



Nur Ein!

[JonPorobil]

Wait, all of it? I recognized Ultron's voice and the musical cues in the intro and outro, but are you telling me that your song had no "instruments" in it besides your voice, that copy of Street Spirit, and samples from the trailer? If so, I'm actually pretty impressed.

More detailed reviews to come, probably in the next few hours...

[josh]

Wow... thank you Judge #5 for saving me from the axe! Oddly enough, I don't agree and actually wonder if a mistake was made, but I'll take it! I have a better idea for this round and the day off tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to execute something decent. Biggest issue right now is figuring out how to get some solid drums down.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Biggest issue right now is figuring out how to get some solid drums down.

May I make a suggestion? I think you'd be much better off using hallow drums. Solid ones are great butcher blocks, but don't project sound very well.
You're welcome.

[noma]

Big congrats to DJ Ranger Den!

My favorite song is Carlo Bruno Jr's, because 1. it has tuba, 2. it opens with the line "We will behave, talk and think like a penguin", and 3. it's hard to beat Carlo's general awesomeness.

[johndisk0]

And for anybody who didn't know, the background music and samples are all from the first "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

So does that mean you kept with the challenge by getting all of your music from the garbage?

(spoiler alert: jd0 is not a fan of The Avengers)

-jd0

[noma]

9th Place (tie) - 73 - Paco "Who The Hell Is Nick Soma?" del Stinko

Nick Soma? Isn't that the singer from Green Day?

[Billy's Little Trip]

Congrats Dee! I knew you and your song would place well. I'm extra happy to see you get top billing.

[Lunkhead]

...are you telling me that your song had no "instruments" in it besides your voice, that copy of Street Spirit, and samples from the trailer?

No, I added drums and synth bass, but that's all.

[JonPorobil]

9th Place (tie) - 73 - Paco "Who The Hell Is Nick Soma?" del Stinko

Nick Soma? Isn't that the singer from Green Day?

Sorry, bearing in mind Paco's "The New Ugly," I couldn't resist editorializing a little when I noticed you two had tied.

By the way, that was some really close clustering in the middle ranges this week! Six bands with only two points' worth of difference between them!

[RangerDenni]

wow. wow. and wow

Congrats Dee! I knew you and your song would place well. I'm extra happy to see you get top billing.

thank you so very much for all your huge assistance I liked the song a lot from the beginning and wanted it to be special so yay!

now I really owe some back reviews !! :/

[Billy's Little Trip]

thank you so very much for all your huge assistance

That's what she said.

[josh]

Is it possible to listen in random order? I get the listening fatigue for sure and my reviews clearly got harsher as that set in. Even a reverse function would be nice so it's at least the top runners that get the short end of that stick

----

DJ Ranger Den: A simple but effective arrangement. Great vocal performance. There's some distortion on the vocals at times, but it's mostly pleasing.

Frankie Big Face: I love the synth sounds. The lyrics are awesome. I read them before I listened to the song and they stuck out to me. I'm not crazy about the vocals, especially during the verses. I like the harder chorus, but it comes on too abruptly.

Carlo Bruno Jr.: The intro reminds me a lot of Mr. Bungle (who I love). Cool song and a well used take on the circus music. Vocals get a bit pitchy during the finale, but overall are well executed.

Manhattan Glutton: Lyrics are right up front and not particularly interesting to me. The energy is good. Very pop feel. Vocals fit the style well.

Touched by "Touched by an Angel": Not a bad rap for a non-rapper. Production works well. The lyrics are hilarious. P.S. I'm too far from Seattle these days to bring you a taco, but if you haven't been yet, the best tacos in the area are at the 76 Station off the highway in Bellevue on 148th.

A tous les monsieurs: Do you play all the instruments yourself? Everything sounds convincing and authentic. As I mentioned in the thread it's a huge advantage having such solid performances (practically cheating! I like the song. It's pleasant, but at the same time, doesn't knock me out in any particular way.

Cavedwellers: Reminds me a lot of 80's, new waveish. Like the Cure perhaps. Tight production, everything seems to be in the right place both mix wise and timing. Nothings fighting for attention. The trash rhythm break is a nice touch. Catchy.

Inflatable Vegetables: Fun song. The mix is a bit loud at least compared to the others on here and it's wearing on my ears. Feels crowded at times, too.

Nick Soma: My favorite lyrics. I'm a big fan of aliens. Vocals seems a bit strained at times and I'm not crazy about the pop/punk singing style so I'm a little biased against the style. Not liking the Meh-meh thing, either. If I hadn't real the lyrics I wouldn't understand what it meant (sounds like may, may). That being said, I do like the song, has a nice mellow feel, to it.

Paco del Stinko: I like kazoo thing a lot. I didn't know you could do that with an empty paper roll.

Ken Mahru: Pleasant sound. Vocals sound muffled... then again my ears are a little blocked up with allergies. Maybe it's me. Chord changes feel too formulaic. Gets boring.

Rabid Garfunkel: Another really loud one. Vocals are grating at times. I like the aggressive feel. Guitar sounds great.

Balance Lost: My butt would be moving if I wasn't sitting down. I hope your not from the U.S., otherwise I'm very annoyed by the accent.

The Chocolate Chips: You guys do the psych think well. Especially the guitars. I love psych rock.

Ross Durand: Perhaps a too literal take on the lyrics. The plinky (I assume from the garbage) instrument is cool.

Michael J. Samuels: Stylistically, this isn't my favorite, but I'm surprised to find this one so far down in the rankings. The performance is great. Maybe it's a bias against sparse productions holding it back.

Zack Facco: Couldn't find an angle on this title I liked. Ended up throwing a blues together and half-assed lyrics. Not crazy about the results, but I do like the contrast of the chorus. I was surprised I made it through with this one.

DuToVa: Sloppy feel and the vocals are buried. Vocals remind me a bit of Ween though (who I love).

Adam Adamant: I heard so much ukulele in the mid-late 2000's they lost their charm to me... unfortunately. That being said, I like the arrangement.

Boffo Yux Dudes: Lovin' that organ! Another literal interpretation, but I like this one a lot better. It works better with a goofy feel.

Toby Roktot: And yet another literal interpretation. I like the guitar playing. It has a nice warm tone, too. Funny use of the challenge.

Mr. Meow: So did anyone figure out who this is? I thought it might have been a regular goofing off. I found this entertaining... Gonna miss Mr. Meow. I'm a sick man.

[chocolatechips]

Thanks for the review Josh, your comment is definitely appreciated as psych-rock(pop) is definitely what I'm aiming for and I've been working on my guitar playing a lot so it's nice to get a positive comment on that. and I'm very pleased you said "you guys" which seems to indicate you think I'm more than one person; because while I try to give my songs a "band" feel, it's just me - I play/write/program all of The Chocolate Chips crap.

I should really do full reviews too, just doing top five is a cop-out. I might add 'em today when I get burned out working on "Stolen Diary" ...

[à tous les monsieurs]

A tous les monsieurs: Do you play all the instruments yourself? Everything sounds convincing and authentic. As I mentioned in the thread it's a huge advantage having such solid performances (practically cheating! I like the song. It's pleasant, but at the same time, doesn't knock me out in any particular way.

The bass, guitars, banjo are all me. The trumpet is a student, err a "member of the band". I put my Eb7#9 chord on vamp and let him go hog wild for five minutes. Hoped to get one lick out of it. It worked! Sampled the 3 second hook and there you go.

The second line groove is a loop from the "drum genius" app. I have another student, err..."bandmate" lined up for future drum tracks.

It is a lot easier for me to just play this stuff (or have a "bandmate" play it) than to sequence it or use synths. That kind of thing is fairly foreign territory to me.

Thanks for the listen.