.... Awwww why didn't I save?!! (Turn The Power On Reviews)

[tonetripper]

*click*

[john m]

"How much blacker can it get? The answer is 'none.' None more blacker."

[Bolio]

"David, 'Smell The Glove' is Here!"

[jimtyrrell]

Denyer, I love that cover. Nice work.

[johnsonic]

redcar!!! RedcarRedcarRedcar!!!!!!!

Yours is the last song I heard stepping off the train this morning - MADE MY FREEKIN' day! Can't wait until lunch and I get another listen! NICE!!!

[tonetripper]

redcar!!! RedcarRedcarRedcar!!!!!!!

Yours is the last song I heard stepping off the train this morning - MADE MY FREEKIN' day! Can't wait until lunch and I get another listen! NICE!!!

Dooood! You're gonna make us blush..... thanks man.

[Niveous]

Niv's Review Paragraph

Another stream of consciousness review. First up, #! Experimental keys. Very odd even for Octothorpe standards. I dream of being able to create such beautiful entropy. Vapour Can Ideas is next. Crazy stuff. It's all over the place. By the one minute mark, I wanted this to find a spot and stay with it. Oh look it has. But now it's just repetitive. Feast or famine here. Next. What...Leichty is rapping now. "With my Casio glistening", I can't help but like that. Blue's Clues! Wow, Leichty threw down. Glenn, sign that boy up for some FAL. Next. R. Mosquito channels Devo. Very funny stuff. Next. The Idiot Kings. Let me tell you about me and the IKs. To coin a phrase from Nole Marin, they are my "orgasmic letdown". It's like yes, new IKs song. It's sounds good. Nice tone. Good feeling. Not catchy. Not digging it. Damn. Next. Calfborg. The new rock Calfborg has almost found his groove. Keep working on this side. It's been growing since the GoM and I think soon, you're gonna knock everyone out with a tune in the near future. For now, it's just ok. Next. Redcar. ugh. not digging this at all. Perhaps after a talk with Freudian Slip I'll see something different in it. She convinced me to Redcar a chance in the first place. This one just felt bland. One of my favorite phrases- "I just don't hear a single". Next. David Over. The guitar is very reminscient of "You've got to hide your love away". It's ok but not spectacular. I'll say I'm 50/50 on this one. Next. Johnsonic f/ Boltoph and the Takaha Surprise. The chorus is good. There are some good chops there. I think this earns this week's "At least you had fun making it" award. It's more jam session than song. Lastly Noah McLaughlin. Sweet guitar sounds reminds me of Paul Simon. Vocals aren't working for me. I feel like you can sing in another style but choice this one instead and it doesn't pay off. This would work with different vocals. Vote time. Leichty takes it, with 2 & 3 going to Calfborg and # respectively. Off to review another fight. But first to hear Ted Leo sing Kelly Clarkson. I like Kelly, she's got moxy...[/b]

[tonetripper]

Calfborg - The singing reminds me of Dinosaur Jr. with it's lazy lude-like performance, which is kind of cool, but I think the drum beat is the killer as it doesn't vary enough to carry the music far enough.

David Over - There are some genuine moments in this, but the acoustic could use a little more presence altogether so the vocal sounds a little more in the space of the guitar. Not a bad song. I especially liked the lead acoustic as that had interesting contemplative feel along side the rhythm.

The Idiot Kings - I enjoy the ambience of this track to a degree, but there almost sounds like there is an over-abundance of compression on this track that it almost adds to the distorted harmonic content of the parts as a whole mixed collectively and makes it all sound a bit over-modulated. In the second verse more so than at the beginning. Good lyrics and well performed.

Liechty - I usually don't enjoy this kind of rap on the whole, but the break beat moments along with various hooky samples kind of help it along for me. I like the use of the title in this rap. Not my favourite for the title but up there.

Johnsonic featuring Boltolph and Takaha Surprise - I love the drum fills and guitar work in this tune. Very musical. I find the beginning kind of bends my will for enjoyment a bit as it seems like the melody of the vocal could have been flaunted harder or just possibly varied from the form that it took. Once the build occurs I'm hooked and that is it's most endearing quality for me as I'm a big fan of the momentary jam. Nice.

Noah Mclaughlin - Got to watch the mic distortion. Turn it down it's digital. You can always turn it up without inducing too much noise floor.

# - If I was watching Sesame Street on acid I would want to hear this. That is what I find so surprising, is how much insanity a child will tolerate which is why I can, somewhat, relate to this music (for a while). If I had children watching the tube I would want them to see some crazy muppet going off the wall singing the vocals for this, but as it is I'm not on acid and I don't have kids so this wears thin on me after a while.

R. Mosquito - Another surf punk hit by the mosquito man. There is not much I don't love about this as the energy is so hot. Kind of for kids like #'s number but cooler. Only thing is the mids seem a little crowded. I can see go-go dancers shaking it on the side of the mosquito man who's wearing a dark suit and shades, working it like David Berne with some crazy cartoon visual displaying on the wall behind.

Vapor Can Ideas - I dig the different spaces the music goes through along it's journey to achieve correlation with the title. The hook of that chorus is way cool. My only beef is that it seems like it reaches to make sense of the title, lyrically speaking, but the music and arrangement more than make up for this minor inadequacy. Very cool.

Redcar (us) - Well this came together suddenly. I got an over abundance of work last week and early this week, so my plan to get inside of this earlier were hampered, so it kind of went through a variety of phases of whether to submit or not submit. Yesterday is when all my parts were worked on. The beauty that is redcar is that we stubbornly (and sometimes foolishly) forge ahead with an idea we are uncertain of in the beginning and, for me, in the end always surprises me. My main issue is that I would have loved to have had the service of Leaf on this tune as I think he would have sent it over the top. Maybe next time. I think it rocks pretty hard and big shout out to THC for the late night mix after file transfer mess ups (and my tardiness, which made everything later for him). He da king. I know there was much that he would change, as would I. So little time.

I'll be listening over the week to decide.

[Liechty]

(re)views

calfborg - dirty, nasty, crunch in there, thats good. those vocals, i think, work well with the instrumentation. i just wish you hit more notes. less apathy would fare you well. unless thats the gimmick - i can see that.
possy: seemingly careless vox enchant me
neggy: vox too quiet, weak ending

daviddddover - im not getting the full force of that acoustic recording. seems like guitar should be bolder. needs percussion (badly). surprisingly, for a guy+guitar lovey heartbreak deal, i like. thumbs up.
positive: well constructed
negative: dulls down without some breakdown of percussion

idiot kings - digging the atmo-chanting. im wanting this to go somewhere 'really' explosive. the '2nd verse' seems to just be a restatement of the first. i wanted it to blow up and the power to turn on, but eh.
positive: had potential
neg: didnt make use of potential

johnsonic - good vocal inflection, but off on some notes. some just seem kindof wonky. need to really shout it out about the power. overall, i like.
positive: fireworks? synth sound effects.
negggg: too jamband.

liechty - what can i say, this song is pretty awesome. i wish i would have found a better way to end it. oh well. there are some badass lines in this though. "a clue a clue!" <---- gotta love that.

noah M - sorry, just dont like it at all.

octoTHORPE - goofy as hell. what? man did you listen to this before you sent it in? this is insane. i really cant pick out what i like or dislike about it. it is too awkward. like watching an obese kid eat food he dropped on the ground.

redcar - slick production, too slick for me. seems like something that stemmed from 'toying with effects'. alright i suppose. just not my bag. i dont know... string synth with distorto guitar is kinda wack. just sounds about 10 years old. alice in chains bside

rmosquito - kindof like the octothorpe entry. i just cant approach these goofy vocal things that well. other than that - 8bit b52s stylings get ooold.

vaporcan - this is pretty neat for an "out there" piece. i see where you are going, but definately better songs in the fight. needs to stick with something. it seems to be all over the place.

my rundown:
1. Me
2. Calfborg
3. Idiot K.

[Caravan Ray]

Reviews in decreasing order of merit:


1. R. Mosquito – This is great! Like the dual vocals (is that actually 2 people or just 1 person using different voices?) Want to have a dance party!?! Ha ha ha! And that chorus is just wonderful – well done.

2. The Idiot Kings – Not bad. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but you really sound like one bands on the Flying Nun label that came out of Dunedin, New Zealand in the mid-late 80’s – this has got a real Baitler Space or Straitjacket Fits feel to it. On repeat listenings this gets even better.

3. David Over – This is pretty good – nice song. Reminds me a little of Ben Lee. Minimal production suits it well. Some nice lyrics throughout too. Well done - enjoyable

4. Calfborg – I’m starting to become a big Calfborg fan. Nice Neil Young/Crazy Horse sort of feel to this. Not as good as your ‘Gallows Hill’ last week – the melody/chords just lack anything special to them here – but I’m looking forward to more of your work.

5. Johnsonic featuring Boltolph and Takaha Surprise – This is good – nice melodies that sort of sneak up on you. Not a fan of the long guitar solo at the end – but I like the screechy sounds in the background

6. Liechty – This seems to be some of that ‘rap’ music that the youngsters seem to like. Not bad – but not really grabbing me.

7. Redcar – There are bits here that I like individually – good vocals, good guitar and particularly good bass. The lyrics aren’t bad either. However for some reason, the song as a whole is leaving me cold. Just not my thing I guess.

8. Octothorpe – Finding those synth sounds pretty annoying. Finding the whole song pretty annoying actually. Not for me sorry.

9. Noah Mclaughlin – Vocals are killing me. Song seems pretty ordinary too.


AND:
Vapor Can Ideas – This is me and Eight Legged Oedipus. Basically I recorded a few drum loops, some vocals, a few guitar bits and some of those voice sample thingys I found on my free download sample of FruityLoops – emailed them to 8LO, then forgot about them. I was delighted to discover that 8LO has sliced and diced and augmented to produce quite a jolly little up-tempo dance number! I agree with comments that it is a bit disjointed – but I think that therein lies its beauty – it’s a bit like a musical version of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I particularly like the juvenility that comes from having two men singing about female masturbation. The only thing I don’t like is the band name – I was going to suggest the more sinister sounding, The Oedipal Caravan but I forgot.
Anyway - I am delighted with this song - good one 8LO!

[jack]

this seemed like the most neglected fight so i thought i'd lay some tough love on it.

noah mclaughlin
you might try backing off the mic just a bit during the chorus. that little guitar riff seems kind of naked out there. the singing isn't bad in a chin rocker sort of way but it's kind of hard to take it too seriously. but i haven't seen you around here before and this isn't too bad so welcome to songfight.

the idiot kings
hey, i really like this. it's not often i get to hear an acoustic based IK tune. the arrangement is really nicely set up, and the wall of vocals works really well for what you seem to be going for. my only beef would be to bring that modulated guitar track down a bit as it seems to muddy up the mids.

r. mosquito
production is pretty solid. the drums seem to disappear from the mix in spots, or i should say they seem to get really buried (the tamborine helps). it's good in a weird al sort of way. i almost wish you'd just done a more straight up version without the jokey vox.

johnsonic and friends
would it have killed you to clip out that intro? the drums sound really good on this. really good. in fact, everyone sounds pretty tight on this as a whole. nice job. people will inevitably slag it with the "jam band" label, but wear it like a badge brother. i dig this.

vapour can ideas
it's solid production but a bit all over the board. kind of jumps from idea to idea.

redcar
awesome production. awesome bass too. i love the looping bass during the verses. the mix really kicks well, with lots of good dynamic shifts with the guitars. great singing. this is really excellent. THC, you are one bad ass mutha fuckin mixer brother.

liechty
hey, the flow isn't bad but the cheesy MIDI casiocore mix has gotta go yo.

david over
this isn't bad for guys with guitars. i like the harmonies. i wish the guitars were mixed louder too.

octothorpe
the drums sound pretty good. mad dog seems kind of drowned out in the mix though. i like the arrangement for the most part, although it seems especially busy. love the horn outro.

calfbourg
this one sort of grows on me. it's got a good driving mix, and i kind of like the way you sing this. it's got a pretty good groove. it's a little ragged but i dig the overdrive.

idiot kings or redcar. maybe i'll vote for both.

[tonetripper]

redcar
awesome production. awesome bass too. i love the looping bass during the verses. the mix really kicks well, with lots of good dynamic shifts with the guitars. great singing. this is really excellent. THC, you are one bad ass mutha fuckin mixer brother.

Hey Jack thanks for the review. The only thing I wanted to point out to you is that the bass (if you are referring to the bass line and not the bass sounds that are in the looped section) is all done live. And ya, I have to agree THC is the mix-master.

[johnsonic]

I'm slackin' big time - I'll have my reviews up tomorrow.

[boltoph]

I had a small part on Jöhnsönic's tune so will try and get some reviews goin too...we'll have to see if our buds Larry and Al will be joining up tonight to help out with the recording process and the reviews...

[thehipcola]

Calfbourg
The atonality of the verses vox drives me bonkers. Like you don't care...the drum loop gets to me after awhile, I want something more, sometime. I don't want to suffocate. There isn't much that feels or sounds 'right' with this track. I've heard much better from you. I get the feeling this is a bit of a throwaway. Maybe it's the unaffected vocal style. The mix is alright, I can hear everything. Problem is I don't want to.

Liechty
Very nice intro, but the cheapass keys sound starts to grate. You have some flow, but not always. Guess that's your style. I find the mix to be functional, but very flat. Like no sizzle, no air, no life. I can hear everything though. The delay effects you got goin on are sweet. I like the power turning on noise around 2:40. Nifty. The fade on the scratchin' is nice. Best part of the track. Not a keeper for me. You can do better.

Vapour Can Ideas
The collage-ness of this repels and attracts me at the same time. I'm interested in how it all came together, less so with the final product. There are some great moments throughout though, enough to keep me listening. When it recycles it's own sound library I start to get bored. Very Ableton-esque. Which isn't necessarily bad. Just isn't doing it for me. the mix is quite good, especially considering the complexity and number of sonic textures flying around. Points for that. And for how it came together. Not enough to vote for though, unless the rest of the field doesn't measure up.

R.Mosquito
Kinda like the B-25's mashed with Devo. Quirky. I kind of like it. I don't like the narrative stuff... Love the CheeseSynth lead line. I think this would benefit from some different production, love the the chorus. Needs more heavy though. And more sizzle througout. Contender.

David Over
This is way too quiet. Very Simon and Garfunkelish. I'd like to see more panning used. That would spice up an otherwise flat and deadpan mix of a quiet and potentially pretty ditty. The vocals in general should be sung with more presence...are you recording late at night and can't wake the neighbours/roommates/family? Especially the backing vocals. Let them voices shine out. The guitar is really washy and uninteresting. Practice with mic technique and eq to bring out the beauty that is the acoustic guitar. There is an awesome thread about it in the Help and Howto section. You are blessed to have a voice with character. I'll expect to hear more of it next time. Not a bad song, but I'm not going to keep it.

redcar
highs and lows. that's what I get from this tune. Some unrealized potential, and some great moments. Too much compression for one thing. Alot of cheese in there. But I like cheese sometimes... Tried to go to a poppish world with this, you know, work the hoook. I think we succeeded on some levels. I'm not happy with the transition from the verse to the chorus, and again into the end part. Ran out of time to dress those up. Really could have used one more hour after a good night's sleep to finalize the mix....ah well. Such is the beauty of SF. Big shouts to TT for another great job, love your fat low end. 8)

Octothorpe
This is great! Love the crazy ass synthy bits. I always have a tough time with the mighty #. But I know it'll happen for me one day. I'm going to stick with it. Feel like my name is Simon, and the dreams I have come true....

JohnSonic
I like the chords yer usin' for sure. I like the feel of this. Nice drums sounds, nice and wide. Like the cymbals. Not so into the chorus...something disonant in there bugs me. nice resolve back to the verse. Very tasty. There is alot going on in this mix that isn't clear to me and that bugs me. Because I feel like it isn't all working all the time. Can't put finger on it though. Nice acoustic guitar sounds for sure. Contender

The Idiot Kings
This is really strong in character out of the gate. I like the cadence of your guitar strumming. LIke the soft multitracked vox. Like the 2nd verse build too. Too much compression on this. It needs one more buildy bit, or element to sell it to me. Or a slightly less cluttered mix. Great feel though. Contender.

Noah Mclaughlin
Nice intro. Not sold on the vocals. There's more vibrato then consideration for pitch at times. I'd take less vibrato. And less clipping. You have a nice sense of melody and setting up momentum with it. This might be in too low of a register for you. There are some funny word pronunciations that I hope to hear next time you submit, else I'd know they were poser-stylings, and those are not cool. NOt hard to listen to, but no vote today. As guy and guitar goes, there's alot of competition. You have work to do to measure up. Same acoustic guitar recording tips apply to you, check the Help and HowTo section.


There were some great moments in this here fight. On a third listen, R. Mosquito takes it, all about the chorus. Nice work.

[blue]

#: Best. Solo. EVAR.

[jb]

<b>Idiot Kings</b> did you get some new recording gear or something?

[the idiot king]

no, just a couple semesters of engineering classes.

[Spud]

#: Best. Solo. EVAR.

Thanks, blue. You know what that means to me.

[HeuristicsInc]

mini review format, again.

1: johnsonic (hey, i like this a lot. great layering of sounds. the weird noise at 2:40 is ... what? i like that.)
rmos (very 80's and fun, vocal is interesting but not my favorite)
idiot kings (at 1:00 or so this really gets cool, that sound is awesome)
# (wacky sounds in here.)
redcar (neat and different)
2: liechty (this is solid, good music, good cadence, but it just doesn't move me)
calfborg (not as weird as i remember you being. it's pretty good, but unremarkable)
vapour (interesting, but it doesn't hold together that well)
noah (pretty good, for g&g)
david (pretty good, but too quiet)

i voted for REDCAR.
-bill

[johnsonic]

Heuristics Inc: the weird noise at 2:40 is ... what?

Kaoss Pad... I don't get a whole lot of use out of it but it's cool for shifty reverbs and bleepy / alien noises.

[HeuristicsInc]

kaoss... cool. think it would be a neat thing to have for live improv stuff. do you agree?
think eno uses one of those.
had been considering getting one sometime.
-bill