SpinTunes 21 Round 3 Challenge - 'Connect the Thoughts'

[BoffoYux]

ST21 Round 3 Challenge
Here we are at the halfway point of SpinTunes 21. Janus-faced, we marvel simultaneously at how far we've come and how far the road still stretches. So many lyrics we've melded with melodies, so much music still to be welded to words. In my backyard, the scarlet leaves on the trees signal the slow slide into autumn, while the scarlet tomatoes on the vine stubbornly say there's still some summer sweetness left to sing. But I digress. Or do I? Read on for your Round 3 challenge.

Connect the Thoughts: Write and record a song about two seemingly unrelated subjects. Connect them in an unexpected yet satisfying way.
Examples:

"Nanobots" by They Might Be Giants
"Foil" by "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles
"The Skinny" by Atmosphere
"Someone to Love" by Fountains of Wayne
"Hurricane Camille" by Mandibles
"Righting reflex" by Micah Sommersmith
"Can't Handle This" by Bo Burnham
"The Mary Ellen Carter" by Stan Rogers

Submitting Entries:
Your entry must be received by Sunday, October 8, 2023 @ 11:59 PM EDT. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox (spintunescontest@gmail.com) by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail. One minute late is too late.
You are allowed and encouraged to submit a draft of your song early just in case something horrible happens and you miss the deadline. Then you can add polish to your song and send in a better version closer to the deadline. The last version received prior to the deadline is your official entry.
Lyrics are mandatory. No instrumentals. Having no lyrics will get you disqualified.

SUBMITTING BY EMAIL: Send your file in a format that BandCamp accepts. (.wav or .flac) (at least 16-bit/44.1kHz) Do not send MP3s.
Name your file the song's title + your band name, without punctuation.
The subject line of the e-mail should identify the challenge and your band's name. Something like this would be fine: "ST21R3 - All the Robots".
Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail.
Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collaborated with someone.

ALTERNATE FILE SHARING OPTIONS: If your file is too big for an email attachment, you may email me a link to where I can download the song. The email still needs to land in my inbox by the deadline.
If you have a Bandcamp account you can just send me a link to your song if you include all the info I mentioned for emails. Info such as lyrics and song credits can be included in the email or on the song's Bandcamp page. Make sure you have it set as a free download, and have it set so that I don't have to put in an e-mail to download it if you pick this option.
You may also use a file sharing service such as DropBox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc. Include in the email any required information (such as lyrics) that you couldn't include in the file. Make sure I have permission to download the file, and please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.

SONG BIOS: In addition to lyrics and any necessary credits, you are welcome to include a "song bio", with any information you feel is useful. This could include your inspiration for the song, citations for any obscure references within the lyrics, an explanation of how your song met the challenge, etc. Some challenges may require you to supply certain info in your song bio. Since the judges are volunteers with lives outside of SpinTunes, song bios can help them zero in on aspects of the song you feel are important. However, if your song requires a multi-paragraph explanation in order to understand and appreciate it, this is probably a sign that it doesn't stand up well on its own, and its ranking may reflect that.

Side Notes:
You can send in an entry to SpinTunes 21 without competing. Just tell me it's a "Shadow Song". It will be played at the listening party, but won't be ranked and you might not receive feedback from the judges. Check the FAQ if you don't know what that means. You can even complete past challenges from previous contests. It's a nice way of playing along if you can't commit to the schedule or you just want to get your feet wet.
The only other way to get your music played at the listening party is to cover "Today's The Day" by Inverse T. Clown or "Right Again" by Mandibles.

https://spintunescontest.blogspot.com/2 ... lenge.html

[glennny]

Connect the Thoughts ST21r3

Note- I'm not sure where Song Bios go. I included the Cavedwellers and glennny song bios here. Forgive me if that is redundant.

Stacking Theory- Slowly Disappear- Music is very pretty. I love your voice. I’m a little bummed it’s a talking verse telling a story. I’d much rather hear vocals doing a melody. The challenge is fine. The chorus is great. The little stories are good, the lyrics are descriptive and paints a detailed picture. I’m confused by the talking choice, especially with your vocal abilities. This much talking in a song reminds me of the Faint- Sealed Human.
https://youtu.be/wn5eWgK5TME?si=KCS3qynFH0reAUzB

Hot Pink Halo- Gold- The challenge is fine. This is a nice poppy gem. Or should I say nugget? It feels short. I’m the guy who wants a solo. It feels missing without it. I wonder if the drums are too busy for the rest of the song. I’d slide it way over towards simple on this song. It’s catchy. I enjoy it every listen.

GFS-Falling Down- This is pretty. Amazing singing. The production is so slick. It feels cold. It feels like music by AI. Is it all MIDI? Is anything played live other than the vocals? Everything is perfect. Too perfect. Good song! Not my production style, but seriously impressive.

Pannacotta Army- Elephant- Challenge is fine. I always look forward to your music. It never disappoints. This is awesome. Is Bob Skaggs your favorite band? Vocals are gorgeous. Drums and percussion are excellent sounding. Acoustic sounds great! I wonder about the synth pads. Great song! Good job! If I was producing this, I’d get a flute solo in there. I miss not having a solo. The break down was a tease. Flute solo! You know like Bikeride- That’s Math:
https://youtu.be/CswkYQlCJ9o?si=-YHOjPDVJMPg9xXl

Phlub- War Dawgs- Brings the rock! Challenge is fine. I really enjoy the live drums, and live guitar. Bass is cool too. I’m not sure about the vocal filter for the whole song. The breaks are great. Simple beat packs a great punch! The solo is pretty cool. I guess I wish it intensified more as it went on, but it’s so good to hear a solo.

Jim Tyrell- Salt- Nice and live! Is it just 6/8, or does this sound a lot like Piano man? At least the verse of Piano Man. There’s no sing along chorus in this one. I think it needs it. The tin whistle interludes are nice. 8 verses and no chorus is a pretty tough listen. Your voice is great, the playing is top notch, the song feels incomplete. I know Dylan has got plenty of these kinds of stanza after stanza folk songs, but those aren’t my favorite Dylan. I want to add a chorus “ Salt, Salt, Oppenheimer or John Galt, we all need salt!” (I’m sure you can do better).

The Dutch Widows-When the Storm- Sound effects! They sound great! Yes! A strong chorus! The drums sound so good! I love the production. Like I told the rest of Berkeley Social Scene on Monday night after we saw Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service, what was missing from that show, and from your song is me soloing over the instrumental sections. (you need a bit more of an instrumental section, just 8 bars, it’s all I ask). This is great! Challenge is fine. This is one of my favorites this round. All the production choices are great. Backing vocals work very well. Good job!

Pigfarmer Jr. – Falling Down- Two songs called Falling Down? Weird. Could you imagine a song writing contest where everyone had the same title? That’d be crazy.
Well this is 6/8 and it doesn’t feel like Piano Man. Nice dynamics! What is that out of key solo instrument? So strange. Everything is tight and sounds good then the Mandolin? Is playing in a different key. Your voice is good, song is good. The challenge is fine. That solo instrument kinda kills this song for me. Guitelele? You should rethink that part, otherwise it’s damn good!

Tunes by LJ- Morning Water- Smooth! AM Gold! Vocals are fantastic! I love the descending a Capella bits on “Flow”. The Rhodes is awesome! Challenge is fine. The production is great! Cool song! This should do really well!

Jealous Brother- Guitar Picks and Nail Clippers. Opening unison riff is awesome! I love me some Allman Brothers and White Denim. I mildly object to a song about a song, or about a guitar or picks etc. This leans a little too country for me, but it’s done very well despite the meta-song violations. The slide licks great! Song is too short, needs a solo especially in such an established song structure. Cool song. Challenge is fine.

Sober- Cheap Wine and Expensive Beer-This feels like a B-side. It borders on novelty. All the playing is amazingly good. I am a beer snob, and I drink the cheapest wine (because I can’t tell the difference). So I relate to the sentiment of this song. Your voice is amazing. It’s good stuff. It’s cute. Great mix!

Cavedwellers- Elevator Pitch. Truth is the 1st vocals, I’m the 2nd vocals. I enjoyed writing the choruses. The puzzle nature of them is that they needed to work on their own and work interlaced. Truth is playing the Rhodes, I took over the rest of the music. I took this solo. This has been stuck in my head since I turned it in. I’m hoping the same effect happened to others. I know Truth is a far better vocalist than me, but I thought 2 vocalists would make things more clear.
Cavedwellers Song Bio:
Character 1 (thought 1) has a big idea, but he can't give details. He's passionate about his idea, but nobody will listen to him. Character 2 is a venture capitalist. He hears big ideas with no details or data all of the time and thinks little of them. They meet in an elevator and Character #1 takes maybe his only opportunity with his captured audience.
This little story was inspired by the many times I've seen an associate grab Elon and say something like "Can we put solar panels on the roof of a car instead of having batteries?"

Glennny- My rule this year for my solo project is to go with first thoughts and first instincts, no matter how silly or obscure, or maybe too dark last round. In the song bio I talked about an alchemist making a chimera now known as a platypus. Here’s that song bio:
glennny song bio-
The Platypus is clearly a chimera of an otter and a duck. The duck was a thought, the otter was a thought. They combined in an unexpected way to become the platypus. We suspect the alchemist making this creation was Australian. It's tough to be sure. The OWCA is the organization Perry belongs to. Perry is the world's most famous platypus from the show Phineas and Ferb. OWCA stands for Organization Without a Cool Acronym.

Mandrake- River Flow- (SHADOW) The organ reminds me of Mates of State- Nice Things That Look Good. I wish this song intensified like that one.
https://youtu.be/WwDLdP2EwpY?si=gEYsvVpMOS2nN9Et
Where it is, is pretty nice. It’s got an Eno solo charm to it. Enjoyable!

Siebass- Ambulance- (SHADOW)-This is fun. Nice rocker! This has shadow lyrics. Vocals are great, they really sell this silly song. I enjoy this a lot. I like it better when I didn’t read the lyrics. I feel like this belongs on Sesame Street.

Ominous Ride- Willard and Karma-(SHADOW)- Well there’s a story. Nails the challenge. Does it nail the challenge at the expense of being too verbose? I long for a catchy chorus. Good singing. Clearly this was lyrics before music. It’s successful in it’s genre. Cool stuff.

Nightingales Fiddle- Baseball- (SHADOW)-Nice singing! That’s quite a melody! I’m into the guitar quite a bit. I’m not loving the drum machine, but it’s okay. Seems too loud for where the vocals are. The bass is nice, and very live (timing not corrected keeping the humanity). You’re struggling with a lot of instruments that don’t have any sustain. It seems like you want an electric guitar, or violin or synth. Lots of reverb isn’t quite the same. This is a good listen. I like it.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Pigfarmer Jr. – Falling Down- TGuitelele? You should rethink that part, otherwise it’s damn good!

Yeah, guitelele. I broke a string on the banjo and was rushing, as is my habit this challenge, to get something. The out of tune is made worse by a the delay, I think, which is also a a poor choice. But thank you. I plan to do a new mix eventually.

[the panna cotta army]

Pannacotta Army- Elephant- Challenge is fine. I always look forward to your music. It never disappoints. This is awesome. Is Bob Skaggs your favorite band? Vocals are gorgeous. Drums and percussion are excellent sounding. Acoustic sounds great! I wonder about the synth pads. Great song! Good job! If I was producing this, I’d get a flute solo in there. I miss not having a solo. The break down was a tease. Flute solo! You know like Bikeride- That’s Math:
https://youtu.be/CswkYQlCJ9o?si=-YHOjPDVJMPg9xXl

Cheers.
Bob Skaggs??? ....never heard of him, but but I am a massive fan Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees is in my top 10 all-time best albums.
Yes, flute solo would've been a nice touch...that would've really cranked up the lounge feel!!

[Siebass]

Connect the Thoughts ST21r3


Siebass- Ambulance- (SHADOW)-This is fun. Nice rocker! This has shadow lyrics. Vocals are great, they really sell this silly song. I enjoy this a lot. I like it better when I didn’t read the lyrics. I feel like this belongs on Sesame Street.

Thanks for taking the time to review my Shadow! I think Tunes by LJ called it "delightfully unhinged" which is where I land when I do well, as opposed to "appallingly strange" on the other end. I hadn't considered this one as a kid song, but I think you're right. I can add this to my list for my solo DadbodRadbod album, coming....eventually.

[gizo]

Stacking Theory- Slowly Disappear- Music is very pretty. I love your voice. I’m a little bummed it’s a talking verse telling a story. I’d much rather hear vocals doing a melody. The challenge is fine. The chorus is great. The little stories are good, the lyrics are descriptive and paints a detailed picture. I’m confused by the talking choice, especially with your vocal abilities. This much talking in a song reminds me of the Faint- Sealed Human.
https://youtu.be/wn5eWgK5TME?si=KCS3qynFH0reAUzB

Hey thanks Glennny. I'm enjoying that song you've linked right now, cheers! I was channeling more of 'Constable' by Peep Tempel... https://youtu.be/bpzqW-zBYcA?si=qyEgQl0-G_ucMXE7

I promise I'll sing more next round...

[DutchWidows]

I think Tim (Pannacotta Army) commented elsewhere that he thought that with one or two exceptions, this was a weaker set of songs than Round 2, and I think he’s right on that, though I’m not sure why that should be. Perhaps because Round 2 was exceptionally strong rather than the Round 3 songs being inherently weak? Maybe because the Round 3 challenge was a tough one? Certainly I struggled with this challenge and I suspect I wasn’t the only one.

I wasn’t wholly clear on what we were supposed to do and how it would be judged - how does one objectively test ‘satisfying’ and to what extent must the two seemingly unconnected things actually be unconnected and is that in a general sense, or is it ok if they are just unconnected only in the songwriter’s mind? One person’s lack of connection might be someone else’s bread and butter.

It’s resulted in songs that (to me at least) meet the challenge or not to quite a wide degree and it'll be interesting to see how the judges approach that. I can’t recall in my short SpinTunes life anyone being eliminated for failing to meet a challenge for an otherwise good song, but I guess it must have happened..? I think it will be very harsh to eliminate anyone on those grounds, as I’m sure that the writer could argue as to why they did meet the challenge. Maybe this will give rise to a SpinTunes appeals process!

Given the highly subjective nature of the challenge, I haven’t included any commentary on my opinion as to whether the song meets the challenge or not (with one exception). It's just my opinion and not relevant in the wider scheme of things, plus I’ve been in the situation before where my song got dunked on in reviews, which some of the judges picked up on, and I was pretty annoyed at the time (clearly, I’ve let it go, don’t think about it anymore and I’m a well-adjusted human now). But I don’t want to be the cause of that kind of grief, so I’m keeping those opinions to myself. I may share them after the results are out!

Stacking Theory - Slowly Disappear
This is a great song. I love the restraint on show here – it just seems to be being held back somehow, and the release of the chorus is so satisfying – that rhythm guitar (?) just propels the chorus along. I love the spoken word story too and it held my interest over repeated listens. It was quite a revelation to put this on my good headphones (I’d listened on monitors, air pods wandering round town, and finally on my good headphones) to hear the detail in the backing vocals. I’d just not heard them before, and they’re lovely. The chorus is both uplifting yet harmonically sad, and the dual vocals are excellent and work so well together. The decay on the word ‘disappear’ is superb – I love that bit especially. Of all the songs this round, I think this met the brief in the most satisfying way (to me).

Hot Pink Halo - Gold
While I didn’t think the chorus quite landed for me when listening to the song initially, it is the song that keeps popping back into my head. The guitars are nice and sparse in the verse and just ring out beautifully in the chorus. That last chorus with all the harmonies is superb – don’t hold those back to the end – I’m all for building to a peak, but give us that good stuff every time! I love the ‘i-i-i’ bits – very New Wave. I will admit to finding the drums a little lacking in interest – seemed a little mechanical and flat somehow. Lyrically engaging, and the most thorough and interesting bio I think I’ve ever read.

GFS - Falling Down
I loved the previous GFS songs, but this one didn’t land as well for me – it felt a little lightweight somehow. The production, which was an absolute high point on the previous two, elevating what were clearly well-crafted and well-written songs, seemed to be more noticeable here. It felt to me like the production was working harder to pretty up what felt like a weaker song. The chorus didn’t lift enough for me, which I think contributed to my impression of it lacking dynamism. I liked it lyrically – it’s an interesting angle to take – and the bridge was my favourite part melodically. Overall it just left me a little flat and didn’t keep me engaged.

The Pannacotta Army - Elephant
Nice laid back lounge-y kinda song. The musical backing is very well done and the vocal is smoothly delivered, though I would have liked it a touch higher in the mix in the verses. Could be my speakers/headphones though. I love the swooshing synth pad that just filled the sound out beautifully – it undercut the lounge feel in a nice way. The word ‘pachyderm’ felt a little forced to me, but it was part of what I took to be a neat spin on the ‘elephant in the room’ idiom and so I forgave the word as I liked that phrasing a lot.

Cavedwellers - Elevator Pitch
Quite a laid-back feel to this. Kinda sunshine-y feeling. Probably that Hammond or Rhodes organ-sounding instrument that gives me those vibes. Really nice rhythm guitar work too. I liked the dual vocals – the voices fit together nicely – but I found the constant back and forth, particularly at the end when the flip between the two was often within a line of lyric with some hard panning, to be a bit dizzying. I liked the “never practiced my pitch in a literal lift” line – that's a cool lyric in my book!

Phlub - War Dawgs
This has a great sound and energy. Drums sound great – they sound live (rather than programmed), and the guitar is gnarly in a cool way. Those high-pitched squeals – not sure if they’re forced harmonics or feedback or something else, but I loved them - a really cool punctuation. I really liked the falsetto section too. Some of the rhymes felt a bit Janet and John (for examples ‘daddy’ and ‘Baghdadi’, ‘chubby ‘ and ‘Stubby’) but the energy of their delivery just carried me straight through and the simplicity works. It just pushes along in a cool way. The solo had great tone and some nice phrasing, but it could have done with a second rhythm guitar to flesh out the sound – the song sort of thins out sound-wise during that section. Overall, enjoyed this one a lot.

Jim Tyrrell - Salt
I think the use of a live recording was a bold move, and I’m not sure it quite worked for me. I was hoping that the live start would blend into a studio recording, but it didn’t and I found the audience noise pretty distracting throughout (and quite disrespectful too!). The music wasn’t present enough in the mix – maybe the mic needed to be closer..? Great vocal tone, nice playing and a nice tale.

The Dutch Widows - When The Storm Start To Rise
I’m pretty pleased with where this ended up, given that with less than 24 hours before the submission deadline (at least the deadline as it applies to me and my bedtime), I was intending to bin this and not enter. My partner stepped in with some excellent advice as to what I needed to do to fix the problems I thought I had, and she totally saved the song. There are still bits I’d tweak with more time – the lyrics at the end of the bridge could do with a little more work as they’re the key to the whole concept and while they do a job (I think) they could be better. I absolutely don’t regret the amount of time I spent on the two note woodblock fill before the second chorus – a little hat-tip to one of my favourite Stewart Copeland drum fills – and I was pleased with the lyrical nod to Jim Tyrrell’s first round song, or at least my mis-understanding of it.

Glennny - Platypus
Great start with some lovely sunny harmonies. They remind me of something I can’t quite put my finger on. I really like the guitars in this – that stabby rhythm part (left side) with the higher staccato part (right side) work beautifully together. The melody on the ‘float along’ / ‘dive in’ sections is just so nice – real earworm territory.

Pigfarmer Jr - Falling Down
Nice tone to this and it’s well-mixed. I wanted the vocal to lift off more in the chorus – it felt to me like it wanted to go, and I was sort of willing it to push out there, up into the stratosphere. There’s a lovely melancholy feel to the choruses – really gets across the sadness in these rundown things. The “no woman I know would..” lines stood out to me, and I’m not sure why. They seemed to take on a weight in the song for me that far outweighed their presence – they only happen twice. Maybe it’s the repetition in close proximity. Don’t know. Maybe it’s just that now I think I know the wrong women. Good song.

Tunes By LJ - Morning Water
I liked the concept and it works written down, but listening I found it less effective, as it just sounds like the same two words, which I know is the point, but, it got a bit lost on me aurally. The ‘mourning/morning water flow’ melody is so lovely – really starts each section off on a strong footing, and the rest backs that start up well. The sounds are all really easy on the ear and the song floats along in a way that I found engaging.

Jealous Brother - Guitar Picks and Nail Clippers
This sounds to me like a pretty straight ahead country rock song, following some well-trodden harmonic pathways. Even the type of guitar that’s gone is consistent with the genre. That’s not to say it’s not well done – it most certainly is. It sounds really good – well-mixed, nicely balanced, everything where it should be. It just didn’t feel like much of a stretch to me – it felt like a song sitting well within JB’s wheelhouse, which is no bad thing in itself, but it didn’t ping for me.

Sober - Cheap Wine and Expensive Beer
I know Sober had time issues in getting this submitted in time, and in that context this is really well-recorded and well sung (as always). It felt a little pedestrian to me though, certainly when judged against Sober’s own ridiculously high standards. Perhaps like the Jealous Brother song, it felt safe and well within a comfort zone. Nothing wrong with playing to one’s strengths, but I wanted more. Maybe that’s on me though. Also, and maybe it’s just because I covered Sober’s Home last time round, I noticed a recurring shelf theme, the bottom shelf in particular. A missed opportunity not to use that in the vertical challenge in Round 1…

Mandrake - River Flow (SHADOW)
The upward curve in Madrake’s songs this SpinTunes is remarkable to see/hear. The melodies here are really pleasing on the ear and the vocal delivery really confident – the chorus in particular is excellent. That held note at the end of the choruses seems like something Mandrake wouldn’t have attempted earlier in the competition, and it’s absolutely nailed here. The musical backing works really well with the vocals, and the vocal tone is so much better and sits in the mix really nicely. Lyrically well-written too. Enjoyed it!

Siebass - Ambulance (SHADOW)
This is great – once you break it down, legs are linguistically pretty present and important, and it took this song to make me see that. I really enjoyed this; it’s musically and vocally great, the asides are charming (particularly the last line, which made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it) and draw the listener in. And I’ve always been suspicious of Miss Muffet. Firstly, who eats curds and whey?? And spiders are not scary creatures. At least not so much in the UK (I’m aware that regional variations may apply to the scariness of spiders - I don't know where Miss Muffet lived, but I suspect it wasn't Australia or somewhere that has actual scary spiders).

Ominous Ride - Willard and Karma (SHADOW)
This is a great song - one of my favourites this round. Has a great melody, music that kinda drives along (appropriately enough) on the back of those acoustic guitars, it’s a cool story with a great pay-off. I love it when words are kinda mangled in their delivery, so I loved the pronunciation of “police” in the third verse. Lots of great harmonies too. Suspect this would have done quite well.

nightingale's fiddle - Baseball (SHADOW)
This is really nice – the expanded musical backing is really well done – the rhythmic bass and guitar parts work well with the harp and the drums lift it all up a level. The vocal could do with being a touch higher in the mix for my tastes – your voice is excellent and we need to hear it!. The drums seem to waver timing-wise or the other things waver relative to the drums, but that doesn’t detract from what is a really well-written and well-delivered song.

[TunesByLJ]

Stacking Theory - Slowly Disappear
The soft, melodic echoes in the background of your spoken word verses are very well done - it adds a lot of character to those sections that otherwise might have sounded a bit flat. I do think your lead vocal in those sections is a bit over-processed. That megaphone slapback effect is interesting but I do wonder what a more natural vocal might do to give it a more intimate vibe. Love the octave split in the chorus. Really interesting track with a very compelling theme, and quite different from what I’ve heard from you before.

Hot Pink Halo - Gold
I absolutely adore your vocals on the chorus here, especially the high falsetto on the final “gold.” Your performance on the verses is a bit less clean - that may be a stylistic choice, it definitely lends a certain indie charm. I think given how otherwise polished the instrumental is, you might benefit from tightening timings and tuning on the verse vox. Speaking of the instrumental, this is just delightful stuff. The drums in particular stand out to me - there’s a lot going on but it doesn't feel overbearing, it drives the energy forward in an irresistible way. Your guitar tones are also excellent, they fill out the mix really nicely in that mid-top end. Did I mention how much I love the chorus?

GFS - Falling Down
You have incredible pop songwriting instincts, every song you’ve submitted makes that clear! I think the high pass effect on the verse vocals is a little too constricting - I’d like to hear a bit more of your distinctive voice there, I think it sounds a bit empty until the chorus comes in. Though I do think this approach helps the chorus stand out (which I imagine was partly your intention). This song overall is so delicate, you’ve chosen some very tender chord progressions (hard not to fall for that dramatic minor 4 at the end of the hook!)

Pannacotta Army - Elephant
I’m sold as soon as the beat comes in - I am a fan of basically all your submissions, so no surprise there. Smooth vibes, effortless chord progressions, good sonic instincts (love the way you change up the beat for the chorus - really helps it stand out!) The synth pad laying over the top is something I wouldn’t ever really think to do, but it works well here. I do agree you’ve layered on some cheese.. The synth twinkle after the hook is probably a bit indulgent. But it really doesn’t bother me that much

Cavedwellers - Elevator Pitch
This song is a blast, good vibes, good melody. I think your mix is a bit muddy at times - I’m hearing a lot of different guitar tones, panned in different ways, along with wurly chords in the same frequency band, all of which sort of clutters things a bit. I love the call and response vocals, though I think the difference in vocal effects between them is a bit distracting, especially having them panned opposite from each other. I love the melody and timing on the chorus vocals - really unique stuff.

Phlub - War Dawgs
The way the guitar pulls back to make space for the verse is excellent dynamics. This is a genre that lends itself well to the more highly processed vocals and heavy midrange guitar - I think both of them work well here. Whole thing gives me early QOTSA vibes - Homme’s presence is definitely felt here. Guitar work across the board is exemplary. Loved this one!

Jim Tyrrell - Salt
I won’t pull punches - this was a bit of a disappointment compared to your prior entries. I found a lot to like in your submissions from the previous two rounds, particularly your production choices and nuanced chord progressions. Working with a live recording certainly puts you on the back foot for a contest like this; I’d love to meet this song where it’s at despite that. I had a hard time doing so - it’s a relatively simple song, with a simple chord progression, and not much to grab on to. (Although I did like the… recorder? doing that melody - it feels a bit like a bard’s ballad or an old drinking song or something). The recording doesn’t really do it justice either - if you were mic’d up better that might make a difference, but as it stands this sounds like it was recorded on an iphone from the back of the room.

The Dutch Widows - When the Storm Start To Rise
I’m not a huge fan of foley sound effects in songs - I don’t think the thunder really adds much here, but that's probably just a matter of preference. Otherwise, this song is a lot of fun - good dynamics, solid guitar work. I think the percussion in general is a bit more dense than it needs to be - sounds like you’ve layered a few very different drum tracks on top of each other. The midi cello feels a bit cheap in that bridge section at 2:40ish, but it's quickly followed by my favorite part of the song - the way it culminates with that high energy release at 2:54 and back into the chorus is so satisfying.

Glennny - Platypus
There’s so much to like about this one - just like the other submissions you’ve turned in. You clearly have a very well developed sense of how to mix music. Your vocals sound crisp, love the drum tone (especially the snare), guitar tones throughout are perfect. That solo is so crispy! I do think overall this song is a bit less coherent than the others you’ve done - it feels like the different sections are a bit haphazardly stitched together, and there’s not much of a melodic through-line connecting them. I think the chorus in particular just feels a bit “punched in” (even though it's musically quite catchy and fun!)

Pigfarmer Jr - Falling Down
Very clean and well mixed, but musically this was a bit unremarkable to me, especially compared to your prior submissions. The chord progression, instrumental performance, vocal melody, etc - it all feels a bit too safe and generic, right down to the minor pentatonic solo over major chords. Perhaps I’m hearing a banjo-sized hole haha. Everything is well done here, but nothing really sticks out.

Tunes By LJ - Morning Water
I was pretty uncertain about this one the whole time I was writing it, but I do feel like it came together pretty well by the end. Very much still working on learning the limits of my voice - I never really sang much on my own compositions until I started doing Spintunes. Thank god for Flex Pitch… (in the name of fairness I will say - you can definitely hear some unintended side effects from excessive tuning if you listen closely. Something I need to work on!)

Jealous Brother - Guitar Picks and Nail Clippers
This is fun and charismatic and intimidatingly competent. I love the guitar work throughout, especially that slide solo - that shit slaps. Your vocals also sound excellent, and the rest of the mix sounds great. I do think it otherwise sounds a bit generic - I am admittedly not too familiar with this genre, but from a distance it sure does seem to follow the conventions pretty closely, and your personality might get a little lost in that. I’m jealous of your slide guitar skills though.

Sober - Cheap Wine and Expensive Beer
You have absurd talent to be able to churn out a banger like this so quickly. You’re a master at blending your banjo work into the other instruments you play - the guitar and banjo play off each other perfectly, and that booming baritone lays over it all so nicely. I’ve avoided talking about the challenge in these reviews (it's a vague challenge, and I don’t really care to critique lyrics too much) but I do think the comparison at the core of this song works perhaps a little too well. That being said, it's a great song, and a very relatable topic!

Mandrake - River Flow
You have a remarkable arsenal of synth sounds! I truly wish I had the chops to recreate some of these myself. Excellent use of glides too - sometimes this stuff can sound a little “video gamey” with the typical trappings of midi-space, but you have such a confident command of these sounds that it never feels contrived. Of course the time signature changes are commendable too - tastefully done here, and the chord progressions are really quite beautiful. It’s also very clear that your vocal confidence is improving - the chorus here in particular is really well done! It was actually stuck in my head for a few days. I think vocals are still your weak spot in general though - I would recommend leaning further into vocal tuning and effects to clean up some of those inconsistencies. I think you’d be surprised what you can get away with.

Siebass - Ambulance
You were clearly having fun with this one! Love the “delightfully unhinged” vocal performance. All of your instruments sound great here, in particular the drums. And the tremolo guitar stuff in the outro. Wait no actually I like the bass best I think. Overall this is probably a bit too goofy for my tastes but I think you had a vision and executed on it with aplomb.

Ominous Ride - Willard and Karma
I’ve heard a whole lot of songs in my day that start with these exact strummed guitar chords - I won’t lie, I rolled my eyes a bit when it first kicked off. To your credit though, you definitely beat expectations from there - this song goes places! I certainly wasn’t expecting that rock opera breakdown. The “sameyness” of the guitar in the first chunk of the song starts to drag though - I start to get a little bored and then you hit me with the falsetto “oh no” and I’m fully bought in again. This is a good song with a (probably shorter) great song inside of it.

Nightingale’s fiddle - Baseball
I think your submissions are suffering from how you record them. You have a beautiful ear for melody and a sweet voice, but neither of them are well served by the low-fi recording approach you’re using, which sounds a bit too “DIY” and unpolished, almost like harp and vocals were recorded together in a single take. The reason I’m focusing on this is I think otherwise this song is fantastic! You have good songwriting instincts and instrumental talent. I just wish both of those things could really shine through. I am honestly tempted to cover this song.

[JonPorobil]

I can’t recall in my short SpinTunes life anyone being eliminated for failing to meet a challenge for an otherwise good song, but I guess it must have happened..?

Under previous management, disqualifications happened from time to time. For instance, in Spintunes #3, Caleb Hines was disqualified for not writing his own lyrics (he adapted an 18th century poem into a spoken-word piece).

One memorably unpopular decision was that Ben Walker was disqualified from Spintunes #2, Round 2. The challenge was to write a sequel to a "hit song." Ben chose "When I'm 64" by the Beatles, but was disqualified because technically that song never charted. I think most of the participants disagreed with that decision.

I don't know that anyone has been disqualified since Dave (and later Micah) took the reins, but I don't follow as closely as I used to, so they might have.

For my part, as a judge, I'm extremely reluctant to push for disqualification, especially on the grounds of a subjective challenge. There are degrees in how well a song makes good on the prompt, but I think it's rare to see someone completely ignore it (or miss the point so badly that we get the impression they've ignored it). I would advocate for disqualification only in the case of CLEAR rules violations like plagiarism or submitting something written before the prompt.

When I feel a song doesn't handle the challenge well, I incorporate that into my rankings, but that's it. Typically, it might be worth a rank or two in one direction or the other, depending on other factors such as the overall quality of the song otherwise and the quality of the other songs in the round.

[MicahSommer]

I don't know that anyone has been disqualified since Dave (and later Micah) took the reins, but I don't follow as closely as I used to, so they might have.

Dave DQed Glen Raphael in ST15.2 for writing a parody song without original music - that's the only time I can remember anyone getting disqualified for anything other than missing the submission deadline.

[crumpart]

Cavedwellers(?) almost got cut for not doing the challenge properly once, I think. Word count restriction, and they had one extra word that no-one picked up on until it was too late, so it was let slide.

[glennny]

We weren't DQ'd, but we were punished with low rankings, clearly we had the best song otherwise. (just kidding)