No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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Pigfarmer Jr
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No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Open your eyes, type up your reviews and reeeeaaaad!
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Songs posted! All 15 of them! Huge fight and lots of good stuff. I love it!
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Lyric thread: https://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11417

Only 7 or 8 posted so far...
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by vowlvom »

Excellent fight! Really enjoyed most of these tracks, but to be more specific:

Tim Hinkle - your bassy vocals sound great (and suitably operatic) here and I really like the quick mandolin (?) picking. The song overall is enjoyable but quite low-key, I feel like in an opera it would be setting up the story in between two showstopping numbers - nothing wrong with that, but it maybe keeps this from quite edging into my top-tier songs from this round.

mc3p0 - really well composed and produced, but this falls foul of the standard "can an instrumental be judged on the same merits when the challenge is to meet a title?" criteria. My general thought on this one is that it sounds like it'd fit onto the soundtrack for any of the Matrix movies which seems appropriate for 'Is This The Real Life'? But it's still a tricky one. I think some kind of vocal element, be it samples or synthesized or whatever, would really help.

Mandibles - OK, this is the clear winner of the operatic sub-challenge. All hail Queen Cybronica! I knew you had an amazing voice, but WOW. This is so good, if I were to stretch for some criticisms then maybe the verses are a little wordy in places and some of the vocal timing seems to come in a fraction too late in places (although maybe this is the operatic style? I am not an expert) but those are only tiny quibbles, this rules.

Geech Sorensen - really enjoyed this, it has an excellent, warm vibe and the mix is really clear. I think I'd like to hear some more interesting harmonies in places, some of them sound (I think) like you're just singing an octave higher and it feels like some more complexity would help this really stand out. But it's already another one of my favourites from this fight.

Pigfarmer Jr - on most levels this is a really strong entry, your vocals and arrangement are among the strongest I've heard from you. But right from the start I feel like I've heard everything in this song before, the guitar riff sounds like one you've used before (They Know, maybe) and the lyrics feel like a retread of Poetry in the Streets (I think?). The first time this one kicked in I actually checked my phone to see if I'd left an old track in the songfight folder on my phone. So that kinda put me off, although I guess there's nothing wrong with reworking old themes I'd rather hear something new.

Micah Sommersmith - fantastic lyrics, so many killer rhymes and rhythms in there. Really enjoyed this every time I heard it. And yes, your vocals sound much better now that you've fixed your main mic, or whatever!

Third Cat - love this, one of my favourites from you. Grabbed my attention with the shimmering delayed guitar, and there are so many great elements throughout - the quick hihats, the backwards swells, the clever inclusion of the operatic backing vocals. The middle 8 is my favourite bit though I think, the building harmony is so cool, like a parallel universe Beach Boys.

Paco del Stinko - solid, sinister work. Really interesting guitar work on this one, reminds me of Slint and all those vaguely post-rocky bands who do interesting things with dissonance and strange time signatures.

Berkeley Social Scene - nice balladry! There are a few things I really like about this one, the electric piano sounds gorgeous, there are some really nice harmonies in there, and the chorus melody is catchy. But there's also a couple of things that bug me: I feel like the guitar solo comes in too early and kinda stops the song from building momentum, and I really want this to go bigger at the end - get all of the BSS voices in there!

Hampshire Cape - I really wanted this one to be good because I grew up in Hampshire and, uh, I like capes? And it didn't disappoint, this has a really good vibe. The tone and melody of the vocal reminds me of Third Cat a bit, but the songwriting is more traditional. Just a couple of complaints - the vocals feel a bit low in the mix at times, and it could really use some harmonies to make the pre-chorus / chorus stand out.

Chumpy - this definitely feels a bit less polished than your Jerkatorium stuff, but not really in a bad way, I kinda like the slightly rough edges. Really good power-pop, definitely leaning on my genre bias but I'm not complaining, one of my favourites.

Shane Lizard - the mix holds this one back a bit, and it kinda feels like you don't settle into the vocal melody until a few lines into the song, but I like the song a lot. I'm usually put off by FX-heavy guitars like this one but it really works here.

OG Lawn Darts - is this genre bias? I quite like some reggae stuff but there's something in your tracks I just can't get into. Listening to this one a few times I think it might be the way your vocal melodies just kinda alternate between two or three notes all the way through? But it's a personal thing, sorry. I do like some of the music here, although the introduction of the Queen sample feels a bit slapdash.

Glennny - love the acoustic guitar sound and the cool use of harmonics, musically this is really strong. Vocals don't work for me at all on this one though, the way they switch between styles makes the song feel really uneven.

Vowl Sounds - our second song of the year (we did one during FAWM) and this one is mostly owl's work, she sent me a demo and I recorded a new arrangement for us both to sing over. I think this has more of my vocals than any other Vowl song? Sorry ;)
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by codywalkerjr »

Awesome. What part of NH? I'm in the Lakes Region.. Just moved up a year ago.❄
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by vowlvom »

Old Hampshire! The one in England. But I still feel the cosmic link.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by mc3p0 »

"Old Hampshire", lol. This post is a little late, I've been busy:]

I started drinking immediately after submitting, so my entry is slightly late, and I got asked out on a date right after I got home. What a goofy and strangely awesome evening. Let's FIIIIIIGHT!!

Berkeley Social Scene - The distorted piano is lovely with your straight singing style. vocals on the avatar verse is great. The guitar pick solo is really loud. The chorus needs the hihat sizzling more. Your drums are too subdued and I generally want more processing on the super-forward vocals.

Chumpy - "crushing banality" plus 40 points. Fan tas tic dude. I like your voice.

Geech - attitude, power, fucking yes. The electric piano is soo tasteful. Great voice. Has an America feel.

Glenny. - Neato... flavors of dub and Latin, then the Kermit voice. WTF. The lyrics are super cool, particularly referencing a form of dungeon master. The background vocals are pretty too. You have a pretty voice when you choose to. The chorus is interesting, but then Kermit.. FUCK. Then gorgeous harmonies... Then kind of Tin Hat Trio guitar jam, this simply shouldn't music, but it does. WIN!

Cody Walker Jr. - Excellent vocals. Subdued, delicate sound and direct lyrics. This is a good sound. I dig cowboys with tats. Good track for the morning and evening. Great guitar, fits nicely with the organ.

Mandibles - Nice vibrato. Love the Queen turnabout, the mix itself feels overly present at times, but the imagination put in is obvious. This gets cooler and cooler - the aria almost broke my wine straw.:] WIN!

mc3p0 - 'Time' sample from another, even more painful entry. I just continued until the computer and I mutually gave up, so no warcry samples and no vocals. Made in Reason5, wav post-processed in T-RackS24 into a compressed brick, look at that waveform - I should have been more judicious, anyhow trimmed and turned into an mp3 in Audition, labeled in foobar2000. Lyrics into chorus would be "mother told us all quite rightly war is just the angels fighting" with Mongol and Northern Cree war chants responding with the electronic vowels and growls. I spent a day collecting war samples, they might get mixed in on a more robust computer. I hopefully have added something new to the fight, and not entirely boring even at 5 minutes.

Micah Sommersmith - Very few porn stars get $130k payoffs, and I can imagine lots of people could be convinced into porn for that kind of return. Coups make magnitudes more. The "please!" makes me laugh. You're awesome - it's hard to believe but you have successfully used "knocked my pants off" as a lyric. strangely, that repeat to a short ending seemed perfect. Super-short.

OG Lawn Darts - Fucking smooth. Lyrics are great, processing is okie-dokey, who am I to talk, lol. Shades of Steve Miller Band. Great, great track.

Paco del Stinko - Your chocolate balls melted on my keyboard. I love that ugly-feel ending. The emotional range is different, challenging. Your voice is so varied.

T.C. Elliott - Good vocals I would process slightly more. Your vibrato is pretty and tastefully placed.

Shane Lizard - This sounds like it's backwards.. Pretty, pretty chords, this song is more complex than it seems.

Third Cat - Okay, I am in love. This is bold, carefully processed, and doesn't feel quantized. Hihat needs some processing, it takes me out of the mix. Win.

Timothy Patrick Hinkle - beautiful voice, appropriate ending. "with questions ripe" is perfect.

Vowl Sounds - Gorgeous ending vocals and melodic lead. Good length.

This is my third taste of Third Cat, dude. You are really great to listen to and bring a polish to your nerdiness that is obvious.

It might seem unfair that I nitpick Berkeley for sonic arrangement, but let Mandibles win. Imagination and technique are often forgetful of each other, if not repel. They really upped the game integrating The Magic Flute.

Glenny, I wrote you a madrigal looooong ago - "The knave of hearts stole away Glenny's guitar, the rake leaves, the sneakthief, tip-toed past upon pussy feet" a flute and recorder duet. I was afraid that you might give up playing at that time. Your music is so evolved you have an incredible ear and create with a sense of humor.

I like my choices, but will never be satisfied. So much excellence, talent and commitment. This is my first re-entry in some time and considering how much effort each of you put in it was worth it.
"The toot of a flute with the flavour of fruit!" - Caractacus Potts, 1968
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by mc3p0 »

vowlvom wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:40 am
mc3p0 - really well composed and produced, but this falls foul of the standard "can an instrumental be judged on the same merits when the challenge is to meet a title?" criteria. My general thought on this one is that it sounds like it'd fit onto the soundtrack for any of the Matrix movies which seems appropriate for 'Is This The Real Life'? But it's still a tricky one. I think some kind of vocal element, be it samples or synthesized or whatever, would really help.
Thanks for the feedback, and I agree that it's tougher for an instrumental to represent as a "song". Few can do that - Classical Gas, Feels So Good, Oxygene II, etc.

It wasn't intended to be instrumental, the lag got so bad I had to stop. It halted the moment I got rocking with the warcries.

I started with the skeleton of a prior piece using Pink Floyd 'Time' sample and re-work the instruments and write new tracks. You can hear it clearly at some point. The piece is like eleven minutes now. Anyhow, I compose visually - so you are right that it has a chase and battle intention. The Matrix is a bit lofty, thanks!

I can make the .rns file and samples available. You will see how ruthlessly sloppy I get trying to finish on time.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

BSS - I like the vocals and the melody. This feels good. I like the lead playing at the end better than at the beginning. The 'let it all hang out' feel is cool.

Chumpy - I can't help but compare your solo work with Jerkatorium. I think the vocals are bit more loose than usual. Actually, the song is a bit more loose all around. But that's not to say it's bad. I like this quite a bit. This would be fun to play on stage, I think.

Geech - I like the guitars right from the start. The mix is cool, too. I like the stereo affect. I like your melody and the lyric. The vocal seems a bit dry for my taste, but they're not bad. I definitely like the doubled vox parts.

Glenny - I was digging the bass line and the guitars and the vocal tone just took me right out of it from the start. I like the lyric quite a bit (with the possible exception of the 'jonesing' line that took me out of my listening experience a tad.)

Hampshire - Loved those guitars right from the start. I like the mix and the instrumentation. There are some tasty bits in the guitar. I like the tone of the vocal. It maybe doesn't sit perfectly in the mix throughout, but this is pretty good. Maybe the melody is right on the edge of really good for me. Just a tweak here or there. But those guitars are tasty.

Mandibles - I love the harmony vox and that tasty melody. The mix might be a hair thin, but this is pretty good. I thought the operatic vocal was implemented pretty well, too.

mc3p0 - I like the busy feel and this sounds good. I've been listening to more electronic based music the past month or two and I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I might like a bit more of a dynamic shift in the song even though this has quite a few dips in intensity.

Micah - I love the lyric in the verses. And while I'm not a huge fan of the delivery there, it works for me pretty well. The chorus didn't live up to the promise of the verse for me, though. I'm not sure if it's the repeated 'nothing new' or what, tbh. But I do like a lot of the songwriting here.

Lawn Darts - Wish I had the lyric for this one. I like that organ sound and the guitars. I think the vocal performance is good. I like the groove in this song. I almost can't sit still. Maybe a tad too much use of reverb for my taste, but I like this a lot. That queen-esque 'real life' bit is tasty, too. (sampled?)

Paco - I like that cool slow burning groove right off the bat. The title line is killer throughout and I like some of those fuzzy guitars. Twin leads? Killer.

Shane Lizard -I like the emphasis on 'life' instead of real as I would expect. I like the melody well enough, but there's something about this song that makes me feel like it doesn't quite sit just right. Maybe a thin sounding guitar?

Third Cat - I like the delayed guitar bit at the beginning. I've been listening to a lot of Hendrix of late, and it kind of reminds me of some of the textures he had on things like "may this be love" or "Third stone from the sun" maybe? I like the vocal. That bass bit is tasty. The melody and vocal melody work very well for me. This is a good one.

Tim Hinkle - That lower register is cool. The quick picking and long, low held notes work very well for me.

Vowl Sounds - I love your voices together. And this melody. Instantly makes it one of my favorites of the fight.

Standouts for me: Vowl Sounds, Mandibles, Geech - Shane, Lawn Darts, Hampshire, Chumpy and BSS all close behind. Dang, I forgot Third Cat. Okay, no idea how I'm voting now.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by codywalkerjr »

mc3p0 wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 4:32 pm

Cody Walker Jr. - Excellent vocals. Subdued, delicate sound and direct lyrics. This is a good sound. I dig cowboys with tats. Good track for the morning and evening. Great guitar, fits nicely with the organ.
I sent the instrumental ( sans organ) to a pal in Florida who added that sweet organ and also did the vocals and Lyrics. So I can't take credit for that.
It's been a while since him and I collaborated and it was a blast. He's the guy that got me interested in home recording and song fight. Thank you for your review ✌🎸 I'll have time this weekend to listen thoroughly and review.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by mc3p0 »

Pigfarmer Jr wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 5:25 pm
mc3p0 - I like the busy feel and this sounds good. I've been listening to more electronic based music the past month or two and I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I might like a bit more of a dynamic shift in the song even though this has quite a few dips in intensity.
I was really laughing to myself the entire time - too rococo alien birds and butter notes, if that's possible. That podcast is maybe my favorite thing now, next to Trump tweets.

The idea was to diminish the music, sing a verse then BAM warfare, organized and deliberately harmonic. THe samples include doom horns from Ben Hur, some Hakka grunts, Mongol chants, a Latin chamber choir singing a Templar favorite, and several Thumri tidbits. There are loads more from every culture, but that's what was loaded before the combinator broke Reason. Technically it was the Cree, the terrifying, awesome Cree cries.

It's busy. Editing is so important. It's five frickin' minutes and that sub/clap is relentlessly clockwork. THe handclap entry will be more subdued production, the final compression won't make it stand out so badly. I get overzealous.

Your entry was beautiful, your acoustic is great and is perfect with the chorus. Again, your vibrato is beautiful, and you have a masculine sound. The chorus makes a great ending. The mix is pretty balanced and such good quality recording too. Needs drugs.:]
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Cybronica »

vowlvom wrote:
Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:40 am

Mandibles - OK, this is the clear winner of the operatic sub-challenge. All hail Queen Cybronica! I knew you had an amazing voice, but WOW. This is so good, if I were to stretch for some criticisms then maybe the verses are a little wordy in places and some of the vocal timing seems to come in a fraction too late in places (although maybe this is the operatic style? I am not an expert) but those are only tiny quibbles, this rules.
Oh, you'll make me blush! I completely agree with vocal synch comment. There were a couple issues with the takes not perfectly lining up, and I thought I had weeded out most of them, but in that last chorus it is audible. And those triplets were the fastest I had ever sung them. It amazes me that I managed to keep them at that tempo, even with a slight lag in one or two! I would hate to besmirch the operatic style by letting you think my shortcoming were stylistic.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Cybronica »

Is this real life reviews

Hampshire Cape- Great vocals. Nice, relaxed technique with an easy timbre and a subtle strength. Good mix, though I would have liked just a little bit less guitar, they felt a little hot compared to the rest. The organ really folds well into the fabric of the piece. The song as a whole is very pleasant, and one I enjoy each time it comes up on the list.

Micah - despite my lack of experience with rap, I really like this and think it extremely well done. I love your internal rhymes, especially the Hubble/theramin verse. I wish it were longer, but I actually think it’s the perfect length. My work around is to listen to it twice each time. The chorus sounds great and is so refreshing each time I hear it. The whole thing is really clean and well put together. My favorite line is “unanswered questions, unquestioned answers.” And it’s political commentary which always pleases me. Vote.

Glennny - your operatic vocals make me smile every time. It’s like it Kermit did Gilbert and Sullivan and I love it. The ah ahs towards the ends are good (if slightly unrefined) technique, so I’m impressed. The instrumentals are as always great with a good mix. “I can tell the engineers
Designed this world while drinking beer” is my fav line. Are you my dungeon master? That line makes me want to think the song is about dnd, but I can’t find any other clues connecting to it...

BSS - nice relaxing feel. A sweet love song, with some really lovely poetry and soothing harmonies. The vocal bridge sounds cool. How did you get that effect on your vocals? The end when you bring in a third voice for a moment is really beautiful. This feel very different from the other stuff of yours I’ve heard. (And the restart coda at the end is great. Love the guitar there).

Tim Hinkle - John dowland meets Sir Robin’s minstrels, complete with basso continuo! You leaned into the operatic vocal challenge more than the rest of us (including me!) and I must say I quite like your voice (do you ever sing the grinch song?); with some training, lots of opera companies would be fighting for your bass voice! Since you have stepped into my wheel house, the main thing that takes me out of the operatic vocals is the lack of legato- when you have multiple notes on a syllable and have the “h” sound at the start of each note, it gets a little jarring, and one should never breath in the middle of a word /pedanticunaskedforadvice. Picardy thirds are a nice touch. Vote.

Pig farmer jr - excellent guitar as always, esp the solo. I like the song subject very much. Same good consistent vocals we are used to from you. Do I hear vibrato? ;) “Guess ive got to be the change” - don’t we all. Vote.

OGLD - Love the sax. The mix is good, and the vocals are fine. I find this song a bit forgettable, and I could have done without the sampling. It doesn’t match the texture of the rest of the song.

Paco del Stinko - you get the sound of 80s/00s Bowie’s vocals, a mixture of the two, and that’s always enough to win my favor. Really, it feels like a long lost Bowie song. Love the crunching, chunking guitars, and all around a really excellent mix. The instruments are a little hotter than the Vocals, but I like it. It means I have trouble understanding the words, though. Vote.

Chumpy - this feels like a good rock/pop tune. I could have expected it to be on rotation when I was still working retail (ironic given the lyrics). Unfortunately, also a bit of a forgettable song to my ear (also ironic given the lyric). Not my fav, not my least fav, somewhere in the middle.

Mc3p0 - how I would have liked to hear this completed! Good driving through the city at night music. All dark blues and purples with bright flashes of light. I feel like I should be playing a parkour video game. Gets me in a good zen.

Vowel sounds - this is actually the first time I’ve heard you guys together and not as separate acts. Vom’s excellent mixes, owls beautiful vocals, it the full package the harmonized chorus is a lovely sound. If I had to dig around for a criticism, sometimes you both don’t stick the landing on the lowest notes, but that is very nit picky of me to say. Vote

Third Cat - This is one of my favorite songs of yours. The mix is really clean and the vocals are on point. You have a unique, reedy quality to your voice which is quite pleasant to listen to.

Greech - this song is pleasant to listen to, and catchy. It’s been stuck in my head for a day or two now. good vocals, though no opera that I hear. ;)

Shane - I like that mildly out of tune synth you have. It’s like playing an old piano. It mixes well with that accordion sound. A decent song, but I won’t be voting for it. I want t to go somewhere, and it just sticks around in the same place the whole time.

Mandibles - this was the first song since nur ein that had our third member, zidong, in on the writing and recording process. It was great to have him back! This song is a combination of three disparate ideas of what it would be about, and we got them all the gel pretty pretty well. As a note, that’s the fastest I’ve ever sung that bit of the magic flute aria (the character who sings it is called QUEEN of the night! Get it??). This song could use an edit but it’s gonna be fun to sing live. Vote (....everyone votes for themselves, right?)


As a side note, does anyone else have trouble listening to the stream of all the songs? Usually I get most of the BSS song before it’s starts skipping erratically and finally stops playing all together.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

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Cybronica wrote:
Sun Mar 24, 2019 1:00 pm
Mc3p0 - how I would have liked to hear this completed! Good driving through the city at night music. All dark blues and purples with bright flashes of light. I feel like I should be playing a parkour video game. Gets me in a good zen.
Yes, yes, yes!! I'm so glad to have entertained you back. I wish it were kept as a video game, I'm seeing someone who's into parkour, or the 100 yard dash to hospitalization as I call it. I absolutely feel that good zen. Thanks for those words.

Understanding you used three musical ideas makes so much sense. Quite pyramidal.:] I love the baroque string plucking arrangement. For being one of the most iconic opera you really nailed the scales with precision.

This is the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfBvz2rG-NI thumri I took samples from.

This is the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DRdqx9gelY Cree I took samples from.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by glennny »

Mandibles- You guys crushed it! Awesome song! One thing though......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpjSH1BKo_c
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Cybronica »

glennny wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:04 am
Mandibles- You guys crushed it! Awesome song! One thing though......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpjSH1BKo_c
:D
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by thirdcatmusic »

Nice size fight, but almost too big. Harder to wrap my head around this many songs vs our usual number. Overall quality seems really high this time around, lots of cool songs. Here are my reviews:

Chumpy - this is a great mix of a kind of looseness and tightness that I find very appealing. It's super poppy but has just enough of a edge to keep it from being too pop (for my taste.) I really like the change at 1:10, reminds me a bit of something Syd Barrett would do circa 1967 (but this is quite a bit more polished.) I'm hearing lots of different influences but they're all coming together to create something pretty unique I think. overall this song is my favorite of the fight. Vote. By the way; I think I've heard you talk about not being a good singer on the podcast, but I quite like your voice here. I think it fits the style very well.

Vowl Sounds - vaguely reminds me of The Pogues Christmas song ("The Fairytale of New York.") Some nice melodies & harmonies for sure and good vocal performances. I like how your vocals sound together. any complaints would be on the production/mix side and probably aren't too important with a song like this, the vocals are pretty clear and that's probably what matters most here. among my favorites of the fight and definitely getting a vote.

Hampshire Cape - love the laid back feel here, nice keys. reminds me a little bit of the Dire Straits song "So Far Away." good vocals. good guitar. sweet guitar solo and riffs throughout. this is just very pleasant to listen to. Definite vote.

OG Lawn Darts - Cool production and groovy vibe. Dig the organ. The vocals do seem a bit stream of consciousness, and that can be a good or bad thing, I think it works well here. This song has a lot of attitude. Maybe the coolest song of the fight. The break down is pretty tripped out and I like it, I can smell the weed from here. I'm not entirely sure whether I like the Queen sample or not, maybe it would have been cooler to just throw it in there once. Overall this one got my head boppin' enough to get a vote. I think it's one of the best produced/mixed tracks of the fight and it seems like it pretty much did what it set out to do.

Geech Sorensen - Nice guitars, they have a bit of a '90s vibe at times. I don't think the vocals are quite as strong as the rest of the song unfortunately. there are times when they seem to falter a bit, but they sound pretty good at times too. I like the harmonies on the chorus. I like this and it's pretty darn good, but maybe not quite there for a vote for me.

Tim Hinkle - This sort of medieval vibe isn't quite my thing but I can definitely imagine a lot of people digging this. The vocals are strong for the style. Instrumentation and mix both seem pretty good.

Shane Lizard - Getting a big Mac Demarco vibe from this, I'm a fan of his so that's a good thing from me. In some ways a very straight forward laid back song and quite enjoyable just like that, but just off kilter enough to make it more interesting for me. Might vote for this one.

Micah Sommersmith - Reminds me of Hamilton right off, has that hip-hop musical vibe. Overall I like this but I am not sure it's entirely up my alley. I guess that's more of a personal taste thing though, maybe I need to listen more to the lyrics to get what's going on here, getting some current events and I hear the Freddy Mercury reference.

Mandibles - Love the dark guitar parts you guys tend to have in your songs (at least the ones I've listened to and I remember). Very strong vocal performances, lovely harmonies. The guitar & vocal interplay during the opera breakdown bit is really cool. Overall this isn't totally my thing, but I think it's done so well and there's so much talent on display here I have to vote for it. Great job with the vocals, guitars,& production.

Pigfarmer Jr - Sounds possibly a bit overly familiar but at the same time there's nothing wrong with really perfecting a style and this does sound pretty good, nice clean mix, guitars sound good. Basic drums, but they do the job and keep the song driving forward. Vocals are pretty strong. Good one.

Paco del Stinko - might be a bit too dark/discordant for my taste, can't really seem to get into this one for the most part but there's some good musicianship here as always with your songs. particularly the double guitar solo instrumental section which is pretty sweet.

Berkeley Social Scene - there are parts of this I really like but there are parts where it seems to teeter out of the zone. I like the keys quite a bit, I like the intro. a bit long and I do feel the length I think. but might be one of those things that grows on me over time if I were to listen to it a lot. I do like the outro jam quite a bit even though that's part of what makes it quite a long song. it's probably my favorite part.

mc3p0 - I like a lot of what I'm hearing here but I think it's a bit too dense for me to really sink my teeth into. Sort of a sensory overload situation. I think some editing / widdling down of stuff could help this. Maybe if it built up to all of those layers instead of starting right off with so much going on? But yeah; Lots of cool sounds and things to listen to, lots of ideas, I think maybe there needs to be a bit more of a path for the listener to follow for this to totally work though. I'm not too put off by the lack of lyrics or traditional songwriting, that's fine with me, actually I kind of like having some electronic tracks like this in the mix, helps to keep things interesting when listening to the songs here.

Glennny - instrumentally impressive (if slightly confusing as it sounds like different parts are playing in different time signatures or something at times - I'm assuming this is on purpose knowing some of your other stuff.) really like it when the music gets really pretty at the "is this real life?" section. for me the vocals do take me out of it a bit, especially the verse vocals which sound a bit jokey. highlight of the song for me is at 2:05 - very Flaming Lips there and I'm a big fan of a lot of their stuff. overall though this song strikes me a bit like mc3p0's does, just too dense/too many ideas for me to get into.
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Chumpy »

Glennny joins the Jerks as we question the very reality that surrounds us.

For your listening pleasure(?!): Yakety Yak, please talk back at: feedback@twojerksonevote.com.

Time Points:
  • 00:00:00 - Intro song
  • 00:01:06 - Beginning-of-podcast chatter
  • 00:01:32 - Glennny interview
  • 00:08:13 - Berkeley Social Scene
  • 00:16:09 - Chumpy
  • 00:22:28 - Geech Sorensen
  • 00:27:25 - Glennny
  • 00:37:04 - Hampshire Cape
  • 00:41:48 - Mandibles
  • 00:49:46 - mc3po
  • 00:59:23 - Micah Sommersmith
  • 01:05:17 - OG Lawn Darts
  • 01:10:00 - Paco del Stinko
  • 01:15:50 - Pigfarmer Jr
  • 01:20:40 - Shane Lizard
  • 01:25:22 - Thirdcat
  • 01:30:34 - Tim Hinkle
  • 01:35:05 - Vowl Sounds
  • 01:39:27 - End-of-podcast chatter
Real Life, we has it.
"I don't recommend ending on a bad joke." --ken
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Listened through most of the podcast, will finish the last couple of song reviews tomorrow. Thanks for taking the time to do the reviews.

re: My entry. I'm very disappointed to hear that I completely missed the mark. I definitely didn't convey what I was going for. But it's good to know when I fail (miserably.)
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Chumpy »

Pigfarmer Jr wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:37 pm
re: My entry. I'm very disappointed to hear that I completely missed the mark. I definitely didn't convey what I was going for. But it's good to know when I fail (miserably.)
I think part of my negative reaction to the song could be chalked up to "familiarity breeds contempt", although that's not the whole story. I couldn't figure out what the narrator was trying to say. Is he looking for some kind of karmic pay back for his good deeds, or some kind of recognition? Is he trying to find out why sometimes he cares and sometimes he doesn't? What's that have to do with real life? A lot of the song seems to be about what a great and selfless guy the narrator is, and that part about the woman shedding a tear shows that other people see the narrator as a great and selfless guy too. I guess I'd like to see it balanced with some terrible things the narrator does -- or maybe times when the narrator doesn't help when he easily could. Just something to add some balance or conflict.
"I don't recommend ending on a bad joke." --ken
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by mc3p0 »

thirdcatmusic wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 3:02 pm
mc3p0 - I like a lot of what I'm hearing here but I think it's a bit too dense for me to really sink my teeth into. Sort of a sensory overload situation. I think some editing / widdling down of stuff could help this. Maybe if it built up to all of those layers instead of starting right off with so much going on? But yeah; Lots of cool sounds and things to listen to, lots of ideas, I think maybe there needs to be a bit more of a path for the listener to follow for this to totally work though. I'm not too put off by the lack of lyrics or traditional songwriting, that's fine with me, actually I kind of like having some electronic tracks like this in the mix, helps to keep things interesting when listening to the songs here.
Okay, I get a little over zealous. Definitely agree that editing is important, and I didn't! I like starting off on all pistons, this was thought out as done in fast motion interlinked with images of passivity, sleep. I try and make all of my own sounds from scratch, other than obvious samples. Lyrics would have tied this easier, but your are ultimately right - it lacks a narrative solid enough to make this journey feel like one full piece. I mean to try adding something people may not have experienced before, winning is just finish in time. A little drunken. I love musicians. You guys amaze me, inspire me, give perspective. Okay, I dig your style, your handclap challenge is intimidating. I believed that I might be the only clown capable of making a complete piece of music from just handclaps happen, but there you are proposing the most difficult absurdity possible. Your music is really, really good. I don't want to do this to hurt yhou. Singing to handclaps is really going to take some special effort to listen to.:]

The podcast is seriously more technical knowledge than I ever hear. Thanks for feeling the connection. Not a vocalist. Also, Ryan is totally wrong. It's definitely about questioning reali67
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Re: No escape from the reality of (Is This Real Life Reviews)

Post by Chumpy »

mc3p0 wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:17 pm
Also, Ryan is totally wrong.
I need to make a print out of this comment and put it on my vision board.
"I don't recommend ending on a bad joke." --ken
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