Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

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Pigfarmer Jr
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Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Butthat'snoexcuse.
Last edited by Lunkhead on Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: unstick
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Please place your lyric in its proper place: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12271
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Songs posted!
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

Berkeley Social Scene - Dark vibes even under the major changes on this guitar heavy tune, good riff. The chorus feels almost darggy, matbe needing a slight nudge and a bit of polish, vocally. Head bobbing mood rocker, I like how it opens up ijn the bridge, lght without being thin. Calling out the bass tone in this one, nice! Backing vocals help at end. Not a hit, but a good tune.

Gil Sans - Easy vibe moves along comfy. A queitly strong tune that also happens to be wll arranged and garagey great sounding. Total dig! Lead a bit too insecure to start, but grunts and scrapes in a good way to get its point across. Horse Pavement.

The Gross Tones - College rock tune in the living room. Loose and easy, but not stupid, casual but not detached. Fuzz lead guitar single note leads for the extended party jam version, but this does what it needs to do in a hery, how ya doing manner that's fun.

Lichen Throat - Nice and direct approach, the harp sounds add a nice atmosphere, not too cold. The melodies are showing in a nice way over the pulsing rhythm. The end feels a bit off, and there are a couple of points where a brief vocal break would have helped, like after first chorus. A couple bpm faster with guitars would plow.

The Magnetic Letters - Bubbly good and percolating disco. Tempo is just right, arrangement and vocals all right in place. Sunny and dancaceble with easy hooks. Acents and instrumentation just right minus an occasional Niles guitar chicka, this is right on fun.

Paco del Stinko - Drums first, such as thay are, I had an idea of the progression in mind. Late night vocal.

Possum Sauce - Great dancing start, so grabbing. It sounds like live riffing, natural flow and movement rhythmically and melodically as well. A female voice would be great, trading off lines, buy vocal here fits well. Great one to work further on, super fun vibe.

Slick Stranger - Oh yeah, very 4-track goofy fun here. Lacking a bit of mania to push it better, the innocent fun is still apparent. Fun, if not an all-time classic.

Sweeney Toad - Simple and driving, heavy in just the right places. This aggresso-vocal is a good fit here, almost a crowd inducer to...something...but still fun. A minute of this is tasty just right.

toby roktot - Simple and innocent tune, fun and easy. The bridge lines all smushed is great. Under-rehearesed, sure, but the point is there. What if this was done uptempo by the Sweeny Toad? Rapid-fire! Good real life story.

WreckdoM - Tight and new-wave, just a little mumbly vocally. This would clobber with a balting vocal, Rollin's relativfe. Psychedelic part takes a nice ride for a bit. Late-night USA network circa 1987 vibe at times. Trippy parts are best, the vocls are weiord but still underselling it.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Toby Roktot »

I wasn't going to use the space bar in my reviews....butthat'sjusttooconfusing.....sayin'

Lichen Throat - Very interesting lyrics - clever. I really like "I'm the part that no one wrote" line.

The Gross Tones - Nice groove. Kinda reminds me of '60's pop hits. Good memories.

Possum Sauce - Interesting song. I listened like a half a dozen times. Still not sure if I like it but, it's growing on me...

Gil Sans - Sweet little ditty. Really like the hand claps with the guitar solo.

WreckdoM - Ahhh, a song with a message...and. a Caddy Shack reference !!! Boxes checked.... VOTE !!

Slick Stranger - At First...Then....Smiling.....THEN, Total Enjoyment !! Can't wait for the next chapter.

Paco del Stinko - Reminds me of the English Beat...nice groove, very enjoyable.

Magnetic Letters - This is maybe my favorite this fight. Great arrangement and cool laid back vibe. VOTE !!
...........................IBM ? - I had a Wang !!

BSS - Another good song from 'the boys'....might be an album filler but nonetheless, a good song.

Sweeney Toad - Another Sweeney song that totally defies explanation - And I love it !!! (and you can quote me on that)
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

I did some reviews. I'm sorry.

Berkeley Social Scene: I especially liked the semi understated guitar work and the vocal treatment.

Gil Sans: I just saw a meme on fb "I ran over my sm58 with my car. The mic is fine, but I think I need a new tire." That first line just took me straight there. So this started and I was thinking it was just another slowish (okay, mid tempo) stock jangly rock song but that vocal delivery and the feel of the whole damn thing sucked me right in. This has all the beautifully real sloppy sounding elements that I love in certain songs. The guitar lead isn't over complicated, the vocals don't match up exactly right and the whole thing feels like some A&R guy is just dying to say "tighten it up!" but that'd ruin it for me. It has just the right amount of... irreverence, I guess, that makes me a fan by the time it's half over.

Lichen Throat: I like the producing nothing line/idea. I like the depth you've added to the sound of this mix. I feel the arrangement is pretty static. I think there are plenty of subtle and not so subtle ways you could add or subtract from the arrangement to give a sense of dynamics to the song. It wouldn't have to be much, I think. I do like your rhythms in general, but as I think was mentioned before, a greater feel for different sections would help. This could simply be fills leading into the chorus, for instance.

The Magnetic Letters: That A&R guy loves this tight production. Maybe he's not a complete dolt. I like the doubled vox, especially. The rhythm is addictive, it's hard to sit still. The vocal performance is great.

Paco del Stinko: I love your use of dynamics and that chorus just feels right when it hits.

Possum Sauce: I like your slight of hand, elegantly conceived and implemented.

Slick Stranger: Let's call it an homage to Firesign Theater's "Nick Danger." https://youtu.be/RwG5c9IsgbA?t=50

Sweeney Toad: I had a hard time hearing the lyric, but you know what? I didn't need to. The first listen was a bit of a "what the hell is this?" vibe. The second listen (I immediately hit play again) gave me a feel for it. And after digesting for a few moments the third listen revealed the awesomeness that is Sweeney Toad. I love that last time through with the added layers and if anything I think you should have added one more repeat with a full throttle layer or two of noise. Like take it to the next level. SHOVE IT DOWN THEIR THROATS!!!

toby roktot: I think this would be a super fun song to hear live. Kind of like Steve Goodman's "Talking Backwards." It's charming and fun and I smiled but I think it would shine in a live setting.

WreckdoM: That one bar of intro drums reminds me of "Cum on feel the noise" by quiet riot. The deep narration was a bit abrupt as a result, but it sounds good. I like the depth in the vocal and that mentioned beat drives the song nicely along.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

I just had a chance to add a barely late song from Duncan Martin.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Merle Fyshwick »

Duncan Martin: I dig the story; drinking zero-G beer would be pretty rad. Great voice, as always. I'm not ukelele's biggest fan (think I said so in the House Arrest fight), but this is nice and choppy, almost like a charango. As a song it has good momentum, chugs along briskly, if that's not an oxymoron.

The Gross Tones:
This is a cool song. The instrumentation is great: guitars, drums, vocal harmonies. I really like the change at ~ 24 seconds. Reminds me of a more laid-back version of my friend Josh's music. Maybe you've addressed why it's so, in which case forgive me for bringing it up, but the mp3 "compression" is really strong. I downloaded the file to check and it's 64kbps, which I guess explains why. You deserve credit for taking up less space on the server, but jumping up a couple of steps would make a big difference. Unless it's an intentional thing, in which case disregard what I said.

Magnetic Letters (me):
I had some unexpected alone time right before the deadline, so I shat this out quick-smart. Nevertheless, I think it's okay.

Berkeley Social Scene: This one's good. I think I like the chorus more than the verses. It's funny, cause the sleazy vocals are a bit of a turn-off in the verses, but they work really well in the chorus. I think there were a few 'sleazy' Aust. bands in the '90s that ruined that vocal sound for me, I'm thinking Swoop (Apple Eyes - ha ha ha). I dig the Cake-esque guitars at the start and at 1:24. The distant BVs at 3:10 also work well.

toby roktot: Ha - more ukelele:) My favourite line is 'Ahh whatever - I'm done with this'. I like that your voice reminds me of Mark Oliver Everett.

Paco Del Stinko:
The idea of the space bar altering real life is cool, obviously; I went with something similar;) I like the idea of using the tab key to speed things up. The line about the sawdust is a bit cryptic, but I'm okay with that. I dig the chirpy little panned electric guitars. Nice decrescendo, too. I haven't noticed many in this round, so good job on the optional challenge. Super drum roll at 43s.

Gil Sans: Great harmonies. The jam/jar, knife/scar line is a really good one. I'm cool with the lo-fi sound; it does clip slightly a couple of times. I dig the minor bit in the chorus, 1:58 for example; it seems like the chorus is finished, and then this little twist happens. It's a solid song.

Sweeney Toad: This reminds me slightly of The Fucked Jam (Ween), the dropping out and coming back strong. They pushed it past the point of being funny until it was funny again. Both amuse me. Those BV ohs are nicely panned, some cool binaural stuff happening in my headphones. I never got into Hitchhiker, but I appreciate the reference.

WreckdoM:
I'm not a Star Trek fan, so apologies for not getting the Wrath of Kahn/Khan reference; I know it is not considered a great movie. I dig the synth bass moving things along. And it does move along, even though the structure is unconventional. As a song, it's the sort of thing I'm into (sometimes); dark weird lyrics and danceable. There are hints of TISM, the greatest band of all time.

Slick Stranger:
The repeating 'Slick Stranger' becomes annoying, but (like I mentioned in a previous comment) it pushes past into being funny, and the Sue Stranger kind of redeems it. Nice production. I always thought it was a pubic hair that got pissed off! The disco backing is slick.

Lichen Throat: I think you have the most consistently excellent lyrics. Who'd have thought that space bar analogy would be so effective? You, I guess. That the music is almost upbeat prevents it from sounding too self-pitying. As it is, the singer seems resigned, but I'd rather be a space bar than a colon any day.

Possum Sauce:
That bass sounds pretty real, and all the other instruments sound great. At least it's not Windows 8; would be more rage abuse than a missing space bar. Edwyn Collins (that one song I know) vibe. I like the high 'bar bar bar bar's. Cool song.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

Berkeley Social Scene—I feel like I almost like this, but not quite. It seems one notch too dissonant. I like the bass line. I think the melodies make me expect the song to be soaring and free, but then it seems earthbound.

Duncan Martin—Your lyrics are good, as usual. I appreciate how you set a specific scene that I can clearly picture. I’d like to hear drums on this. This has a nice sense of musicality.

Gil Sans—This reminds me (pleasantly) of early songs by The Clean. Good lyrics and rhymes. I especially like the jar/scar line. Lo-fi excellence. Two thumbs up.

The Gross Tones—I kind of like this, but I’d like it more if everything was tightened up. It sounds like you guys have played this too many times and are bored with it. Not bad, though; there’s a solid song here.

Lichen Throat (me)—I had originally envisioned this as more of an electro-dance number with what I hoped was a relentless rhythm, which is why the different sections are more compressed and less distinct from one another than usual. But then I liked how it sounded with my usual instrument tones, so I left it that way. I was trying for more conventional drum patterns, following recent comments on that subject. I was relatively happy with this one.

The Magnetic Letters—This song delivers exactly what it promises in the first verse. Sure, it’s a little silly, but it’s a fully realized expression of the concept. And I can dance to it, obviously.

Paco del Stinko—I wasn’t keen on this at first, but then, wow, that chorus is awesome. I like the bridge a lot, too. Sounds like you had a good time recording this. It earned my approval.

Possum Sauce—I liked this better when I imagined people tangoing to it. This title seems to have brought out the silliness in everybody this week. I’m not sure how much lasting appeal this has, but it’s fun.

Slick Stranger—This contained a joke I hadn’t heard since junior high school. I was temped to hate this at first, but it has just the right amount of obnoxiousness to be charming. I’ll admit to being amused.

Sweeney Toad—Good, forceful beginning. The simple rhythm works well. Oh wow, it’s already over.

toby roktot—It’s impossible not to find this endearing. I think this would kill if you played it live. The ending is the best: a good culmination of your concept, and nice and sweet.

WreckdoM—I think this would sound better with a normal bass, rather than the synth. I do kinda like this. Some good chord progressions in here. As usual, I’d like a more conventional vocal performance and less gross lyrics, but that’s not what you’re all about.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Michael »

Berkeley Social Scene - I like the light and shade here. Great moment when the chunky rock riffing peels back and leaves the mellow bass. The vocal delivery is about a billion percent more angsty than the lyrics - doesn't detract but feels like an odd choice.

Duncan Martin - Very likeable. That third chord works a charm after hovering on two. Three minutes is probably my limit for straight ukulele strumming, but you slip under with fifteen seconds spare.

Gil Sans - Up my alley. Sweet melodic pop heart but with enough grit and grime to give it character. Good vocals and guitar. Love the jar line.

The Gross Tones - A mellow 'I wanna be your boyfriend' kind of vibe, nice stuff. The dialup-era mp3 compression isn't doing the hi-hats any favours, but the feel of it is just right: loose, warm and unfussy.

Lichen Throat - Final verse is my favourite, digging into interesting stuff with 'the rest before the note' etc., acknowledging the value of space. The way the vocal mirrors the backing saps the energy a little: I'd prefer a melody with more independence. But I'm a scrub, as Merle will tell you...

The Magnetic Letters - I am, no joke, wearing Anko-brand undies as I listen, so I'm having trouble not taking this personally. Maybe not as idiosyncratic as other stuff I've heard from you, but still a lot of fun. Great vocal harmony bit at the minute mark. (Really liked last week's song, by the way. Stan Grant? The hospital stunt feels very Stan Grant.)

Paco del Stinko - Spanking chorus. The decrescendo felt like fading energy first time through, but it gives extra oomph when that chorus kicks in. Didn't catch all the lyrics, but the mood's great.

Possum Sauce - The Windows 7 laptop I recorded this on does have a spacebar, but the number keys are almost dead. I was going for a 'Dean Martin wakes up in a hotel elevator with a drum machine and a hangover' kind of mood. Whether that's a mood worth going for is another matter.

Slick Stranger - Your approach to comic timing won me over by the end, the way you pause proudly/apologetically before a punchline. You should look into a narration gig: having you announce my name as I enter a room would give life a bit of drama and flair.

Sweeney Toad - Great fun. Love the all-in vocal commitment, like every line is DEEPLY BLOODY IMPORTANT. I've decided you have a glowing crotch like the guy in that 'Danger! High Voltage!' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a4gyJsY0mc. (If not, I don't want to hear it.)

toby roktot - A bit like the song equivalent of a shaggy dog story. Hard not to be won over by the twinkle in your eye. Are you the only person who took up the woodblock challenge, or did I just not notice?

WreckdoM - It's a solid song, but I couldn't really find a way into this one. For me, the lyrics and the vocal delivery land somewhere between ultra-serious goth drama, camp, metal and piss-take - all of which I'm up for - but I didn't know what to do with this particular mixture. Might need to hear more of your stuff to get a better bead on what you're doing.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Merle Fyshwick »

Ha! Sorry to trump you, Michael, but everything I'm wearing right now is 'Anko', including jocks. My friend Louis and I were puzzled why some stuff had a U.S. address on the packaging; turns out Anko was Wesfarmers' plan to trick U.S. consumers into thinking they were buying something like an Australian version of IKEA. It failed. Maybe someone on the forum can confirm.

Re: Stan - very astute observation. First person to notice, in fact. I really don't want to get sued (I'm already in full Anko), but he just seems to be everywhere, and his op-eds(?) make me groan. I confirmed the story with my Dad, and it was actually worse than I remember. If I felt a bit mean before, I don't now.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Duncan »

I'm my defense, it's a travel-sized guitar that I put some nylon strings on because it kept rusting! Ukuleles remind me of telecom ads and I too find them annoying, but this is my quickest method of recording live and mimicking some kind of rhythm section.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by SweeneyToad »

Slick Stranger - This makes me think of some random skit or movie from USA Up All Night for some reason. RIP Gilbert Gottfried!! <3

Sweeney Toad - This is my song which is inspired by the song Gay Bar. I purposely did not listen to the Gay Bar song before making this and have not heard it in years. This was the result.

The Magnetic Letters - I like the catchy backing beat on this. I like the backing vocals on this as well. IBM if you're old enough is a good line lol, fun song!

Paco - This is a bit disjointed but I like that. It kind of reminds me of math rock but in the style of Paco. I dig it!

Wreckdom - I like the bassline on this and I like how the vocals are panned. This is pretty weird and trippy. Is that vocal clip from evil dead? I might get high and listen to this again later.

Duncan - The uke is making me think of Animal Crossing for some reason. I'm totally picturing you playing this outside in my town square alongside K.K. Slider. The animals in my town are dancing around, they may have had too much to drink. They will complain about drinking too much to me in the morning. Great song, i dug it!

Gil Sans - I like the intro riff and I like your vocals. I like your singing voice and the general vibe of the whole song. It reminds me of something I'd be listening to in the late 90's/early 2000s. Almost like a really early track from Built to Spill. Vote.

Gross Tones - I like the frequent doubling of the vocals, it sounds cool. For some reason this reminds me of something that would have been on the DGC Rarities compilation I used to listen to all the time back in the day. Good stuff!

Lichen Throat - I like the bassline, it's slightly off or something but I think it sounds really cool and it works. Your production sounds better than I remember, it just sounds like a really solid mix. I enjoyed this!

Toby - This is a really cute song. It reminds me of a Duncan song a little bit and now I'd really like to hear you two make a song together!

BSS - Opening riff is catchy and brings me in. I like the vocals on this and the vocal effect as well. The solo breakdown with the floaty sounding keys is really nice. Something about the lazy delivery of the vocals that are sometimes almost off key is really charming and just works well. Vote.

Possum Sauce - I like the organ and the weird pop sound happening back there. The quirkiness of this song is really appealing. I like all the vocal choices you've made here. Everything about this is sonically pleasing to me. Vote.
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

The Gross Tones win!
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Re: Stupidkeyboardisn'tworkingcorrectly (Space Bar reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

This fight seemed to have a lot of entries that were more just ideas or starts of a song that hadn't been really developed. Hard to know how to give much meaningful feedback on those, sorry!

Berkeley Social Scene - I think this started as Ken and Glen and Martin jamming as a trio, writing and recording the music live. I remotely contributed a rhythm guitar track and a Rhodes track, Ken wrote the lyrics, and Martin sang and mixed.

Duncan Martin - Guy-uke! This was cute, I enjoyed it. Fun lyrics. I voted for this one.

Gil Sans - Nice vintage garage rock sound. I like the attitude in the vocals. This really reminds me of some of your original Song Fight entries from 20+ years ago, in a good way not a "you haven't progressed" way! I loved a lot of those. I enjoy the way the "nothing you can do about it" part kicks up the rock level. Dig the claps and the solo. Definite vote!

The Gross Tones - This sounds a little like sonofsupercar in the start. Your cymbals and vocals sound very overly MP3 compressed or something, there's a swirly noise in them that's not great. I like the chorus hooks.

Lichen Throat - Your drum beat is still really weird but the tempo and the chords and melody are coming throughly clearly for me, and they're good. The singing is mostly pretty solid, I kinda wish that you were a little crisper or sharper with some of the consonants, they sound a little drawn out to me sometimes. Cool take on the title.

The Magnetic Letters - Electro-country? Sounds good, I like the take on the title, gave me a few chuckles. Nice and short, nice way to go out too. This could be a crowd pleaser at a Song Fight Live.

Paco del Stinko - I like the verse fade out and then the big chorus comeback. The verse is maybe a little disorienting for me with the herky jerky rhythm. Short and fun though overall.

Possum Sauce - This is super weird. Kudos for that, haha. Sounds like you nailed what you were going for. Another fun and short song.

Slick Stranger - Hm ... opening has me concerned, that this will be more of a sketch than a song. OK, another weird one. Jokes. OK, well, huh.

Sweeney Toad - Have you ever listened to Starfinger in the archives? You guys should collaborate. Man, 1 minute. Just a couple ideas in here, then it's out. It's OK, for just being like the start of a song idea I guess. Could be something cool if you develop it.

Toby Roktot - Another 2 minute song. Lots of short songs this fight! The instrumentation oddly reminds me of that ukulele "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" cover mashup. I think I get the idea after just a minute.

Wreckdom - This feels a little ramble, the switch the sampled dialogue is a nice way to mix things up. Still gets pretty samey-samey after a couple minutes. This one probably actually could have been shorter!
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