I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

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I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

that can only be cured if you write them and post them.
Last edited by Lunkhead on Wed May 04, 2022 8:21 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: normal
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Re: I've got a small problem with a (Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Would be so kind as to post your lyric in the appropriate thread? Thank you!
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12278
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Songs posted!
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Merle Fyshwick »

Paco del Stinko: This song is bloody great. The fizzy little guitars bouncing left and right, the sublime harmonies in the chorus. Speaking of which, I love that progression: it twists and turns so quickly and unexpectedly. Then the Supertrampy bridge - I love it. Frankly, this is one of the best SF songs I've ever heard. I wish it was mine.

toby roktot: Nice plate reverb effect. The compression is a bit intrusive. The "It's Showtime!" made me laugh - sorry if that wasn't the intention. Hints of Lullaby (Shawn Mullins). The narrative is strong, with the little twist at the end - I'm guessing she terminated the VLM. I've been reading Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, which includes accounts of poor girls getting tricked into sex work. Apart from the cameras, it's pretty much the same story.

Sparetooth: Wow - what's going on here? A collab? Are you perhaps impersonating another song fighter? I'm trying to put my finger on what memory this is triggering. So far the best I can come up with is the Werthers Original commercial "He's somebody special too". There's a naivety that is endearing, like Jan Terry or something - it verges on hilarious. If I've misunderstood, Lichenthroat, I'm really sorry. Nice stereo panning.

The Magnetic Letters:
Well, I had another day to myself. I'm definitely getting more efficient, but I struggled a bit with the mixing, particularly the percussion - and there's something odd going on in the bridge. This is really out of my vocal range, but I thought the strained high notes suited the petulant tone. Plus I'd already recorded the guitar in that key. People I know have forwarded it to Luc's brother Sam. That's awkward and cool at the same time.

Dessert Tortoise:
Ah yes, this is a bit more familiar. I read the lyrics before the songs were posted, and I liked the story. I have mentioned this before, but I'll repeat it. Basically, Australians were/are exposed to a lot of US media, and (speaking for myself) US culture occupies a lot of mental real estate. When I hear what sounds like an authentic and quintessentially American story (this one) by somebody who in a sense is a peer, there is a little twinge in my brain. It's not unpleasant, more like I can't believe the TV shows were telling the truth, or something. Anyway, this story hit the spot, and at 1:15 that low note is impressive.

Gil Sans: This makes me think a tiny bit of Everclear, which is a good thing. I was trying to do some mental geometry to figure out who's blocking you and where you want to get to. At first I thought it might be a massive car/truck that's blocking your view at an intersection - I HATE that. But then I thought it's about a fast food drive-through. THEN I thought, it doesn't really matter, because it's a metaphor, innit? Cool angsty and slightly melancholic song.

Possum Sauce: That change (35 s) in the outro chords is great. I support the message, and I like the idea of a 40 second song with sparse-ish instrumentation being a middle finger to those VLM. Sometimes you need Rage Against The Machine, but not always. Do you remember a kids' show called Lift Off? It had a weird premise, a creepy protagonist and I was too old for it, but your song has bits that pleasantly remind me of the theme song (which is a great theme song).

The Mellfire Trifecta: Yeah, nice one. Definite Belle and Sebastian vibes. I dig the harmonies. It's super-tight, which I reckon you need to pull of that beat. And I can't argue with the message. It feels in a sense like the positive-outcome counterpart to Madness' Cardiac Arrest.

WreckdoM: The verse in this one has an Electric Six vibe. I took a break to make dinner, and caught myself going "I'm a big man. I'm a very large man" so you got into my head. Is this a continuation of last week's song? Unconventional mixing, with the hard-panned lead vocals. It's an unconventional song, so it works. I'm not sure where the samples are taken from, but they suit the song.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Gil Sans »

Paco. Pretty great track this week. Reminds me a lot of early Frank Black and the Catholics.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

@Merle:

The Sparetooth song has my friend Jim Johnson on vocals; I thought his voice and musical background would be good for an Americana-infused song like this.

The Dessert Tortoise song is obviously an experiment that didn't work out (so I will not be troubled by any criticism about the awful music). However, all of the lyrical content is about things that actually happened.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Late BSS song added to the fight.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

Berkely Social Scene—That guitar at the beginning grabs me immediately. Everything sounds so rich and full. I’m not sure the chorus quite lives up to the promise of the verses, though I do like the unexpectedness of the melody. Overall, I like this a lot, and I expect it to contend for a win.

Dessert Tortoise—I like the first few seconds of this and the last few seconds, but nothing else about it worked out as I had hoped. The “drums” are cardboard boxes and a water glass, by the way. At least I learned some things not to do again.

Gil Sans—The mix doesn’t sound quite right, but everything else sure does. Love the surf guitar. There’s a nice driving rhythm, and the vocal has the right amount of careless abandon. My pick for the win this week.

The Magnetic Letters—The lyrics are funny and clever. The keyboard sounds a little generic, as if you just took it out of the box and didn’t change the default settings. I really, really like the vocal melody on “I haven’t figured all the details out yet.” This isn’t up my alley, but it makes a positive impression, nevertheless.

The Mellfire Trifecta—I never seem to like this kind of piano rhythm, but I can’t put my finger on the exact reason why. Your playing is pretty good, though, as are the vocals. Nice phrasing on the lyrics, too.

Paco del Stinko—This is so chaotic, but somehow it all works together. Not my favorite of yours, but very competent and definitely not bad. I’m impressed by your overall virtuosity. Aesthetically cohesive.

Possum Sauce—The vocal sounds great in the mix. It’s hard to evaluate this because it’s so short, but I’d like to hear the album on which this appears as an interlude track.

Sparetooth—I tried to get Jim to play a real acoustic guitar on this, but he didn’t have time to do it. (Perhaps superfluous note for non-Americans: this is supposed to be a protest song against the unfortunately prevalent idea that conservative, rural Americans are the true America and have an implicitly greater claim to this country than others. I don’t know if this idea exists in other countries; if not, count yourselves lucky.)

toby roktot—I like the overall sound of this, except for the sibilance (or whatever that is) in the vocals. I like how the guitar sounds like a slow rotating fan at the proper moment. This was disturbing, which I think was intentional, but I’m not sure. Big points for not overexplaining this.

WreckdoM—Good mix. The drums, particularly, sound good. I like how it sounds heavy but not moribund. I’d like a more melodic vocal, but that’s probably contrary to the aesthetic you were going for.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Toby Roktot »

hey all... Little if any tech critique....I just know what I like and...not...sayin'

The Mellfire Trifecta - Sorry, everyone not 'The Mellfire Trifecta' is a loser this time.....No doubt.
Catchy tune...Mccartney like. And, I love the lyrics. Great song and thanks for creating this !!!!

Gil Sans - Love this song....A toe-tapper from the first note and then .... the lyrics...good stuff !!

Paco del Stinko - Paco, Paco, Paco....Listened to this song about 20/30 times now...(more than my own)...You Know...I don't have to say a doggone word. BTW... you'll come in second in this fight, but FIRST in our Rock n Roll hearts !!

Possum Sauce - Cute...this is certainly an intro to an epic Rock Anthem !!! You know,,the crowd singing along then... all hell breaks loose !!!

The Magnetic Letters - This song had me from the first note...Hey, any song referring to motorcycles is worth a few votes !!!

Sparetooth - OK song...seems a little same, same...Maybe a little more excitement in the chorus would give it the kick it needs...Sayin'

Dessert Tortoise - After the 1:06 mark, I really got into this tune. Lots of variety...second half def better. Drums may be a little too loud in some areas...Sayin'

WreckdoM - Listened a few times then with the lyrics...Quite interesting and at the end, I laughed...out loud, lightly...nice.

BSS - Nice song....but, that's expected from you guys. I don't think it's a winner but def worth a vote.

Toby - OK, I'm trying to get something more than just G&G...but, since I record all songs live....not much else I can add. Sayin'
Also, I tried the de-esser function on the mixer...not much dif...guess i need to sub 's' words...LOL
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Merle Fyshwick »

lichenthroat wrote:
Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:01 am
@Merle:

The Sparetooth song has my friend Jim Johnson on vocals; I thought his voice and musical background would be good for an Americana-infused song like this.

The Dessert Tortoise song is obviously an experiment that didn't work out (so I will not be troubled by any criticism about the awful music). However, all of the lyrical content is about things that actually happened.
I think the cardboard box and water glass sounds pretty good - sorry to weigh in now you've said they don't. Extra points if it was a shoebox.

Good job by Jim Johnson. His sound does suit the premise perfectly, now you've explained it. I can't say for sure if that mentality is as prevalent in Australia. According to Wikipedia, we are 3.5% more urbanised than the U.S. - I expected it to be more for some reason. I have family in the country, and I don't think they've ever expressed a claim to being more authentic than me. My family hasn't been here for very long, though. It would be a cheeky claim to make in a land that's been inhabited for ~60,000 years, but I'm sure there are people who think that way.

Late review: BSS: Yeah, this is very easy to listen to. It reminds me of a sound that was prevalent in '90s indie Australian music. Maybe the progression reminds me of Accidentally Kelly Street. I know it's lazy to liken stuff to other stuff, but that's a weird enough comparison that I'll include it. Nice harmonies.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Re: the BSS song, before we got together glennny said that he was going to bring his brand new Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar. I showed up to the practice space first and while I was waiting for everybody I started listening to The Byrds for some inspiration. When it came time to write the music I don't know that I managed to channel The Byrds much but I tried at least to keep the verse and chorus chord progressions pretty simple but still interesting. The lineup is Ken on drums, Geech on bass, Glenn on 12-string rhythm and lead, and me on rhythm guitar and vocals. I wanted to do harmony vocals throughout but I didn't have time and only managed to do the harmonies for the choruses, and even for that I had to take a bunch of shortcuts. Regardless I'm glad to still be able to participate in BSS remotely and be in the fight. I hope to get some reviews done, probably next week. Similar to the folks who've reviewed already though I can say I really enjoyed the Paco and Gil Sans songs.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

Quick observations. A lot to like this fight, some very strong song material, Good job to all!

Berkeley Social Scene - Very BSS and California sounding. The verses start out fine, easy, but open up nicely oin the very embracing chorus. Folky, love it. A softer production here, not muddy, but a little more slice would cut nice. Was hoping for a bit more spank out of the 12-string, but the song is well balanced. The chorus vocals lift it highest.

Dessert Tortoise - Feels like a fragmented dream sequence, washes of almost formlessness briefly gel, very acid trippy. Moods out of focus with clam
nks, a bit of light from the dawn. Good experiment.

Gil Sans - Superb driving pop. I keep waiting for an explosive gear shift chorus, but there's no need as the loop around progression keeps ya hooked. Good lyrics sung well, just-right voice, man, with a bit of classic invasion sound. Great production and playing, it all sounds so good and right. Feel, too!

The Magnetic Letters - This is great, a snappin', dancin', too-cool breezer. Fun story wth visuals over the great progression. The vocal perfromances are melodic and very nicely sung, just right harmonies, too. I don't know that I take a specific melody away from this, but a total skoo-di-de-wah good time. It's all played so well, sounds great, nothing over-done, sweet spot.

The Mellfire Trifecta - Nice! Love how it builds and pauses into a comfort zone of fun story telling. Great layering with the horn part. Sweet and warm vibe. The vocals could be tightened, but they are a nice fit together. Way worth taking a for a short ride around the block into Perfecto-Ville. Nice colors, puffy good time clouds.

Paco del Stinko - Based on a real guy. Rhythm guitars are direct, lead is amped. Very me progression that comes around once in a while. Fun to do.

Possum Sauce - Very nice. You could play this 100 times in a row and not get sick of it. Last bit keeps you right hooked. Message is good, melody, voice and delivery feel organic, perfect arrangement. You don't want it to end as it plays, making it all the better. Sweet.

Sparetooth - I like this, I hear iot as a country and western tune. With a couple of twists, maybe. really dig the rhythm change on the chorus, that is tasty. Unusual vocal, sounds good though. Acoustic re-make!

toby roktot - Nice start. Folky and oceanic. The dramatic readings work very nice into the melodic parts. Ther are hooks there that could be pulled a bit further out, without turn a sugary. But yeah, the excursions out and back into the water flow make for a magical ride. Great vibe here, near mystical at times, I lke this a lot.

WreckdoM - Thunder Fudge. Love the gonzo vocals and meltdown right over the edge to gonzo. Story very Hitch-hikers, but works good. I'll take it!
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Michael »

Yeah, some good stuff in this batch. Haven't found time for proper feedback this week, but will try to get some done next round.
Merle Fyshwick wrote:
Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:59 am
Do you remember a kids' show called Lift Off? It had a weird premise, a creepy protagonist and I was too old for it, but your song has bits that pleasantly remind me of the theme song (which is a great theme song).
I was too old for Lift Off too, but I just looked it up and I see what you mean. (The theme tune and that unsettling eyeless baby seem familiar, so I must have caught some of the show through osmosis.) Tried to nudge my song out of theme song territory into something longer, but it seemed happy at 40 secs.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by MellyP »

WreckdoM – I like the vocal performance on the verse especially but the whole song is real unusual in a good way. I like the idea of an inter-galactic bully with a superiority complex and lots of swagger telling everyone they’re screwed.

the mellfire trifecta – This is us. The visual of a British cartoonish character came to me when I heard the title and I had Madness in my head as I clanged away on the piano. Liked how it turned out. A big stretch in vocal range though so I had to stay low to be able to get high in the bridge.

BSS – Fuzzy and poppy to start, this takes and interesting road. It’s a nice harmony on the chorus. The riff is pretty good. It’s quiet leading up to the chorus and that’s an interesting choice. This is nice.

The Magnetic Letters – Lots of fun and you bring the funny in this one. I agree that’s high in your range and you pull it off, barely! (-: I did easily visualize this whole story as I listened, which is a compliment. Serious question: So did you get the idea for the words when you saw Luc Longley’s motorbike?

Gil Sans – I didn’t hear the title in this one but I liked the song. I read it as a personal and traffic related song, but I’m not certain. Short, sweet and rocked.

toby roktot – This is a good story, and the song grows on you with each listen. It’s really good playing – you make it seem easy to make such a full sound with just acoustic guitar and a vocal. Nice rotating fan approximation! I also think the outro is a little unexpected and works well.

Possum Sauce – Short and with a message. I like the understated vocal and production choices. I would have enjoyed a long solo for the ending after you’d said what you said the way you said it – but it works this way too.

Dessert Tortoise – Like the lyrics, which cover a lot of ground. The melody meanders a lot and it keeps the listener on his/her toes.

Paco Del Stinko – Yeah this one is rocking pretty hard. Great guitar playing. Other things I like: your harmonies, powerful solo, strong lyrics. I can tell you that I disliked the chorus on first listen but it “made sense” to me totally after that. Hope you know what I mean. Unexpected, and then quite satisfying!

Sparetooth – The singer has a smooth delivery – sounds a bit like he’s struggling to keep up at times but he makes this work, especially when you consider the theme of “America gone bad cos America not the same as it was at some randomly chosen period in the past.” Good imagery here.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Merle Fyshwick »

MellyP wrote:
Sun May 01, 2022 4:10 pm
Serious question: So did you get the idea for the words when you saw Luc Longley’s motorbike?
Luc's bike was the last bit! I have a baby who loves being picked up and 'flown' around; I've sometimes thought it would be fun to have someone big enough to do it to me. Even Luc wouldn't make the grade, so I extrapolated and arrived at 6m. The bike is huge, though. I remember thinking maybe I'd reach the handlebars if I leaned right forward (I'm 1.84m). Thanks for the review :)
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

I almost forgot to tell my Luc Longley story! My first year at the University of New Mexico was the last year he was there. Neither I nor anyone I talked to had ever seen him walking around the campus. You'd certainly notice him if you saw him, so I don't think he went to class much. I think he disenrolled himself immediately after basketball season was over. I did, however, talk to someone who saw him repeatedly at a bank downtown. Apparently he had a small car in which some of the seats had been removed, allowing him to drive from what was the normal position of the rear seat.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Merle Fyshwick »

Small world (pun not intended, but whatever)! That's a cool story. If I ever see him around, and I don't feel like I'm being rude, I'll ask him! His wife's a fairly well-known musician, but I haven't seen him at gigs. And yes, you definitely notice when he walks into a room.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

Gil Sans and Possum Sauce tie!
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Gil Sans »

Woo Hoo! Well played PS.
Thanks everyone.
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Re: I've got a small problem with (A Very Large Man reviews)

Post by Michael »

Nice one, Gil. Cheers all.

Honestly wasn't expecting a 40 second uke song to do well. You're weird, Songfight.
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