I'm too lazy to be crazy in the (Hazy Holidays reviews)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

but I'll probably be a bit odd (as usual.)

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Please put your lyric in the appropriate thread: viewtopic.php?t=12572

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

[Duncan]

Heine
The ba-ba-ba intro is tight. That soft furry bassline is great. I’m enjoying all the dynamics of this arrangement. I think the lyrics could use another element. Something slightly dark. The close mic stuff at the end makes me think of Mark Knopfler’s “My Parties” – soo good. but I still want a hint of darkness among the simply wonderfulness

Johnny Cashpoint + Andy Balham
I like the mix on this. The lyrics are fairly repetitive. Love the attitude in the vocal delivery.

And the Lamb
Ooh this is a lovely intro guitar bit. I have trouble hearing the lyrics. Nice interlude overall – reminds me of the show “Detectorists”

BSS
Out of the gate with a great mix. Vocals seem really dry until the oh-oh-hos come in. I like that break. The bridge (or chorus – the part before the solo) is the strongest part of this. sounds great in the headphones.

Seemanski
Great arrangement and mix. I like the piano and guitar – how they walk their bass together a few times. The doubled vocals work really well. The “hazy” harmony is delicious

Jim of Seattle
A+++ medley. I will put this on my holiday mix for next year

Pigfarmer Jr.
This is so depressing but I dig it. I would welcome this when 104.3 The Breeze goes all Xmas all the time for a few weeks. Great commitment on the vocal delivery.

Duncan Martin
More shrug-core. I cheated with the toy piano. It’s Casio’s “honky tonk” voice with some effects to make it sound plunky.

[Heine]

Hazy Holidays – Reviews

And The Lamb:
Nice guitar, almost classical. Very cool, I envy that! It has the mood of a cheering Irish folk song. Was it recorded with a Smartphone? The vocals could be more prominent.

Berkeley Social Scene:
This is one of my favorite tunes this time! Neil Young tempo and vibe. Meaningful 2 chord progression in the verses. Very smart to do a break before singing about "evr'ybody needs a break". (And yes, we needed that break! ) The solo/middle 8 part seems a bit confusing to me. But the Ahh backing vocals towards the end are brilliant!

Duncan Martin:
I like the way this one uses rhymes that are sometimes predictable and sometimes not. ('Ladle' is a new word I've learned Thanx!). In Six Ate. Is it that Unchained Melody chord progression? Can't go wrong with that one.
Thanks for your early review!
(Btw. I listened to your Twenty Twenty album. Johnny Stokes is a song I really appreciate. To me it has also some strong Neil Young vibes.)

heine:
Haha! Bababa… I wanted to do some Easy Listening like John Schroeder or James Last. Some parts are quite nice and easy. I found some brass sounds that weren't annoying within the mix. Those were doubled with a George Benson-like octave jazz guitar theme. One of my lightest tunes on Songfight. Maybe the vocals and ad libs are sitting a bit too prominent in the mix.

Jim of Seattle:
The best Christmas song medley without even playing a real Christmas song. Just before I got one and was about to sing along a well-known tune the melody went into another direction. I really had to laugh while listening to it for the first time. Great! One of my favorites.

Johnny Cashpoint & Andy Balham:
I like the stop and go approach. The bass line is cool. The Ahhh-backings too!

Pigfarmer Jr:
A short punk rock song. I like most parts musically. Lyrically another drug song. Hm…, at least I learned about a one-hitter.

Btw. During my Christmas break I read Sam Sweet's bio about Acetone, a band from L.A. ('Hadley Lee Lightcap'). But it was more about the whole drug thing and less about music. It is written very detailed – interesting but somehow depressing. For I've never been to the USA; can anyone tell me if drugs are really that omnipresent over there?

seemanski:
Musically mellow and soothing. About lost friends? Lyrically Auld Lang Syne the other way 'round? Nice playing and singing. Maybe I'd shorten it a bit in the middle. I like the ending but it gets a little too loose. I would play the ending straighter without these pauses, add some more instruments and reverb to make it sound really BIG. Maybe with a long fade out.

PS:
...I miss the Third Cat entry. Some lyrics were posted but no tune?

[seemanski]

And The Lamb:

Wonderful guitar playing, it kind of feels like the end of the night. I got transformed to a pub setting where everyone has reached there limit, the bar man has rang for time and your in the corner playing this as everyone staggers out.

Berkeley Social Scene:

I'm not massively keen, there are elements that I really like. I like the harmonies on hazy holiday and the mix sounds very rich and packs a real punch. The solo is great, the thing that bothered me was the pace. I would have liked the verses to really picked up the pace (kept thinking of ever fallen in love kind of thing in my head) which could have then dropped for a slower more docile chorus.

Duncan Martin:

A really nice charming little number that feels very much like a christmas hit not about christmas.

heine:

This is a really great sounding mix, getting badly drawn boy vibes from it. Really liked the playful ending and the general feel is warm and inviting.

Jim of Seattle:

I have mixed feelings about this, I think it is a lovely ode towards the holiday season, I'm jealous of your piano skills and the recording sounds terrific, but, it's not really a song, it's more of a medley.

Johnny Cashpoint & Andy Balham:

There is some nice wordplay in this and the guitar solo is nice but it feels pretty messy and rough around the edges. I also found the stop startiness of it a bit awkward and didn't quite fit for me.

Pigfarmer Jr:

THIS ROCKS! Really liked the chaotic nature and it is the right tone for what you are portraying in your words. A good old holiday bender .

seemanski:

This is me, I had an idea at the start of the fight but I just couldn't find my groove right until the last minute. As a result I rushed the recording and felt I could have done a whole lot more. I went with the tacked of posting something is better than nothing.

[Jim of Seattle]

And the Lamb

I really enjoy this one. I wish I could understand even half of what you're singing. As it is I can't understand any of the lyrics almost. Which feels like a shame because I like the tune and your voice, and it is kind of delightful. Reminds me of White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes somehow. Or at least it would - if I could understand the lyrics. Still, good one.

Berkeley Social Scene

Honestly I find it difficult to review your songs because there are so many of them. I like your sound, but I always come away wishing you all had longer to gestate the songs before finishing them. They have a quick demo, initial idea sound to them. And there are so many I kind of feel like who am I to try to get in the way of the vibe you've had going for so long. You know? Anyway, as for this song, it's not a favorite of mine among yours, not enough going on.

Duncan Martin

I appreciate the style and earnestness of this, but the long strings of half rhymes kind of drive me crazy. And once I figured out the idea, it was just a matter of waiting for the next set of month rhymes.

heine

The song opens with a top drawer vamp reminding me of The Free Design and I'm 100% on board. But when the vocal starts it hits like a lead weight. There are a few problems with this, which I'm going to spell out because what's good about this song is really pretty great and I could really love this song if it were a bit different. First off, the song is about a lazy road trip kind of fun feel, but the vocal is way in your lower register. To get the feel appropriately light, I would love to hear it sung much higher, so a key change would be required, or writing a whole new melody. I wouldn't want to muck with the band much because I think it's just right, but if you have to change the key, and imho you do, then that's going to require a rebalance of the band of course. Worth it though I think. Also, you have a deep resonant voice which is nice, but dark and sonorous. When you sing close to the mic it accentuates all the low harmonics in your voice and gives it a deeper tint, which is great but I think works against you in this particular "summer fun" kind of song. So sing a few inches back from the mic, change the key so you can sing it in a higher register and belt it out a little more, remembering what the lyrics are about. Lastly, I haven't thought so the last few of your songs, but in this one the accent comes through pretty strongly. I'm not saying it's a problem at all, but I'm just letting you know I really hear it, whether that's something you're going with or not. I think it's cool, I just hope it's on purpose. Anyway, as you can tell, this is a favorite this fight.

Jim of Seattle

I had a lot of fun putting this together and it gave me an idea to do like an epic such mosaic just like this but incorporating the entire Beatles calatog. So one long thing in which every Beatles song can be heard at some point. It sounds like a ton of fun to work out, but I've had a couple IRL lambastings of this song and so maybe it's more fun to do and people hate it when they listen to it. I can't tell.

Johnny Cashpoint & Andy Balham

I can't remember if I ever typed this out years ago, but I've thought it for a long time, so here it be: I think your vocals are crazy and out of tune and recorded kind of lousy, but I also think all of that could work if you corrected just one thing, and that is stop anticipating and falling behind the beat with your vocals. If you have a separate vocal track for this song, you should try just sliding the lead vocal back a tiny bit so that it sits in the groove better, and I think the vocal performance could be kind of awesome as it is. Probably, a little more finesse than just a big slide would be necessary, but if I were producing this, I would spend an hour looking at the waves in my vocal track and making sure my vocal downbeat pulses match up with my band's downbeat pulses. Maybe it's just me, I don't know. As for this particular song, apart from the sing-on-the-beat issue, I think I wish this song were a slightly faster tempo, and pull the lead vocal back in the mix.

Pigfarmer Jr

I think this is performed and recorded really well. I envy how you got that lead vocal to sit back in the mix like that yet still stand out so clearly. I really struggle with that, so good on ya for that. And if I'm hearing correctly, the vocal is double-tracked super tight. Sounds really good I think. But I am pretty tired of the ironic-Christmas-sucks genre of songs, so points off for that. I think it's kind of done. I wish there was something more original there. Hope it's ok that I laid that on, but it's like what I have said about Avatar 2: What's good about it is really really good, and what's bad about it is, well...

seemanski

Head and shoulders, people. Hats off. If you would like nitpicky notes, I have some, but really you don't need them. I think the performance could benefit from super-duper tight cutoffs and dynamics like CSNY or America or Bread, (and NOT like Fleet Foxes). Maybe you prefer that looser style, in which case go for it. But if I hear songs like this from those artists I mentioned, I'm struck by how tight the production is, both instrumentally and with their vocals. I'm thinking like CSNY's Helplessly Hoping - listen to those vocals and every single cutoff and swell and diphong is perfectly in sync. It's a beautiful thing. But again, you may prefer the looser style. For me, I would like to hear it tighter because the songwriting could be brought out more that way, and the arrangement would have a little room to breathe. I also feel it is a little long, or else needs to move further from beginning to end, such as start smaller than it starts now, and/or grow to bigger than it grows now. But man, this is fantastic, and I'd love to be the guy get to get to do all those things I listed. Like I said, head and shoulders above the pack for this fight. Winner.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

And The Lamb: I'll reiterate what's been said before, the vocal is too quiet and nearly impossible to make out. That being said, I like this a lot. It feels as if this were recorded live. It touches the old timey stuff I listened to with my Dad when I was much younger as well as some English folk and Americana roots revival stuff. Please post your lyric if you don't mind.

Berkeley Social Scene: I love that intro, it really drew me in. Something about those guitars. Feels a little left panned heavy and I think it's more than just a more active guitar... I think the right side guitar needs a bit more volume.. or something. Regardless, I like this song but I'm left with some undefined feeling that I want to like it more. No idea why because I don't dislike it at all.

Duncan Martin: AAAA and similar rhyme schemes are hard to pull off without feeling like a nursery rhyme rip off (at least to me) yet your tongue in cheek vocal delivery pulls this lyric off rather well. This one I liked more on the second listen than the first but it's growing on me. The doubled vocal, or octave? is a nice touch.

heine: The intro reminded me of some 70's soft rock arrangements. I think the vocal is a bit too loud/dry for my taste, too. The feel is good, though. That intro bit came back around and it feels just a touch cheesy but the softer vocal at the end is a nice change/touch. Not bad, but not sure if it's me or the song that's having trouble pinning it down.

Jim of Seattle: I've listened to this a couple of times and I think I like it more than I should. I'm not a huge holiday/yule season song fan so this one has two things going for it. It's not obnoxious and I'd have no problem putting it on a seasonal playlist and secondly, I could just play this one song and be done for the year if I wanted. Great idea, btw.

Johnny Cashpoint & Andy Balham: Oh nice anit-christmas song.. I love the subversion. And this comes off pretty well sonically, too. Digging it.

Pigfarmer Jr: Vocal up just a hair too much? I wonder. So I think this ruined the playlist. All the other songs fit together much better without this one in the queue. Still, I'm planning on releasing an irreverent Christmas EP(album?) next year, all hard rock etc., so I took the opportunity to add a song to the more or less done pile.

seemanski: I remember really liking some of your entries in one of the contests (probably Nur Ein?) a while back and listening to your vocal delivery here I'm reminded of them a lot. This song doesn't quite hit the same heights for me but it's more than solid and well done. Maybe the piano is a hair too high in the mix? Maybe my ears are tired. Maybe neither. Regardless, I like that bit just after 2:00 a lot. The acoustic coming through and the held melody notes, doubled vocal... just killer there. This is a grower. I'm on a second listen and liking it a lot.

I'm really surprised how well I like this group (minus my entry) taken as a whole. I'veenjoyed listening through. I guess And The Lamb and seemanski are my two favorites after a couple of listens and typing this up but I wouldn't be surprised if my picks would change tomorrow. I could honestly find a reason to vote for each of these.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Songs posted!

Are we missing the Third Cat entry? I see a lyric but didn't notice it fitting any of the songs.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Pigfarmer Jr
I envy how you got that lead vocal to sit back in the mix like that yet still stand out so clearly. I really struggle with that

Me, too. Glad to hear. That doubling is a vst called bitspeak or something. Bitcrushing at it's less than finest. I add a bit of distortion and a bit of bit crushing to most of my hard rock things. Especially when I'm singing with a cold etc., Anyway, one of the settings is like a doubler that isn't too overbearing with a light touch.

But I am pretty tired of the ironic-Christmas-sucks genre of songs, so points off for that. I think it's kind of done.

Yeah, that's fair. Still, it wasn't intended to be as much as Christmas sucks as the singer is a dope-head feeling sorry for himself. Still it comes off the same.

I think this is performed and recorded really well.

Thanks

Hope it's ok that I laid that on

More than okay. Thanks for the reivew.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Pigfarmer Jr:
A short punk rock song. I like most parts musically. Lyrically another drug song. Hm…, at least I learned about a one-hitter.

Thanks. I wonder which parts you didn't like musically.

True story, my wife found my oldest daughter sucking on a one-hitter when she was like three years old, left by her sister's boyfriend. That did not go over well.

can anyone tell me if drugs are really that omnipresent over there?

I don't think so. I can spend 98% of my year without coming in contact with anybody smoking or doing drugs (other than alcohol.) That being said, if you go to the right concerts or the right bars or hang around the right people then it's pretty easy to be exposed to at least some recreational drug use. Also, I have several employees who smoke on a regular basis. As long as they don't do it at work, I don't care. Marijuana was just legalized in Missouri a year or so ago so I guess it'll be more commonly out in the open than before.

PS: ...I miss the Third Cat entry. Some lyrics were posted but no tune?

Yeah, I asked, too.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

Thanks for the kind words, seemanski and Duncan.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

*confused on edit and quote apparently*

[Heine]

Pigfarmer Jr:
A short punk rock song. I like most parts musically. ...

Thanks. I wonder which parts you didn't like musically.

In general I like the genre very much. In this particular song I like the verses most. The chorus is good, it grows on me. The bridge inbetween could be a bit stronger. But only speaking for myself! Definitely nothing that I would skip if it was on a CD.
I struggle a bit with the guitars. Nothing wrong if it goes into that indie/alternative direction. But one thing is the sound; it feels a bit 'washy' to me not that punchy and defined (as maybe Slash's guitar sound). Did you mic the amp or did you go into your DAW directly using VSts?
(I prefer using acoustic guitars because it is much easier finding a pleasant tone than with electric especially distorted guitars.)

Thanks a lot for your words and explanations!

[Heine]

... When you sing close to the mic it accentuates all the low harmonics in your voice and gives it a deeper tint, which is great but I think works against you in this particular "summer fun" kind of song. So sing a few inches back from the mic, change the key so you can sing it in a higher register and belt it out a little more, remembering what the lyrics are about. Lastly, I haven't thought so the last few of your songs, but in this one the accent comes through pretty strongly. I'm not saying it's a problem at all, but I'm just letting you know I really hear it, whether that's something you're going with or not. I think it's cool, I just hope it's on purpose. Anyway, as you can tell, this is a favorite this fight.

Thanks a lot for your detailled review, Jim!

Each and every song I post, I ask myself how heavy and annoying my accent is. I try my best to avoid/reduce it. But I can't listen with native's ears. So - if not for Songfight! - I prefer writing and singing in German language.
(At least I think my "th" is okay. I have a lot of Kraut LP's - I love - that even don't care about that.) There is a french singer Francoise Hardy who sang some records in German language - perfectly without any accent! But on the other hand the charme of a nice french accent is missing. A dilemma!

Back to my song. I thought a lot if I should sing it in a deep or high register. So I did split it. From the third verse on it is sung higher. But I dig your hint to sing a few inches back from the mic on the next occasion. I always EQ my voice and instruments but maybe I should have cut the bass amount of the voice a bit more this time. - Anyway the vocals are mixed way too loud this time. On my monitor speakers it sounds okay but listening on my phone or stereo the vocals are sitting way too prominent within the mix.

[Jim of Seattle]

Each and every song I post, I ask myself how heavy and annoying my accent is. I try my best to avoid/reduce it. But I can't listen with native's ears. So - if not for Songfight! - I prefer writing and singing in German language.

I don't find it annoying at all. It is a trait that distinguishes you from similar artists. It's up to you of course whether you want to highlight or hide it. I merely pointed it out because I could hear it clearly in that song but could not in previous songs. I would recommend either way that you make a choice though - either stick with it or don't, but be consistent from song to song.

On my monitor speakers it sounds okay but listening on my phone or stereo the vocals are sitting way too prominent within the mix.

You gotta test your mixes on a bunch of different systems before it's "done". I don't do that often enough. How many times have I heard a supposedly finished thing I've done on a system I didn't test out and think it sounds terrible --- ... and then the next day on some yet other system and it suddenly sounds great. I've also tried to mimic a mix from a recording I admire, (though I've never come remotely close to whatever I'm trying to imitate). Even when I'm doing a simple two-piano bit like I've been up to of late, I'll agonize over just the right EQ and reverb, not to mention swapping around piano instruments. Agony. I hate it.

I'm a composer/songwriter. Any mixing advice I give is coming from learned experience, not from talent.

[Heine]

Each and every song I post, I ask myself how heavy and annoying my accent is. I try my best to avoid/reduce it. But I can't listen with native's ears. So - if not for Songfight! - I prefer writing and singing in German language.

I don't find it annoying at all. It is a trait that distinguishes you from similar artists. It's up to you of course whether you want to highlight or hide it. I merely pointed it out because I could hear it clearly in that song but could not in previous songs. I would recommend either way that you make a choice though - either stick with it or don't, but be consistent from song to song.

All I can say is that I don't do it on purpose. I think I don't even hear the differences between the tracks. I'll do it everytime as good as it gets.
Maybe it depends on my deeper singing this time? We can verify it soon because the next fight is also sung very deep throughout the entire song.
Please let me know!

[Lunkhead]

Songs posted!

Are we missing the Third Cat entry? I see a lyric but didn't notice it fitting any of the songs.

Hm, that is curious. I have a vague recollection of maybe getting an email from him with a song recently. But I'm scouring the Fightmaster's inbox etc. now and can't find it. So either I'm imagining it or something happened to the email. Third Cat if you're out there, please resubmit! I'll try sending an email to the last email he used that I can find in the inbox.

[Duncan]

Great late action in the reviews. Thanks team. Heine, I always appreciate a listen. Johnny Stokes was a rare moment when the house was empty and I chose to sing in a different register and add lots of wailing. Great memories. I keep piling up songs and have this goal to put out another album before a big life change this summer sucks up all my time forever.

Jim of Seattle, I feel your pain at the half rhymes and end rhymes, but I'm afraid I can't help myself. If it pains you, imagine the anguish (and glee) I must feel daily. Buckle up for Surprise Arizona I suppose.

[Jim of Seattle]

Jim of Seattle, I feel your pain at the half rhymes and end rhymes, but I'm afraid I can't help myself. If it pains you, imagine the anguish (and glee) I must feel daily. Buckle up for Surprise Arizona I suppose.

Try as I might, I have never made peace with half rhymes. Even innocuous ones like, say, "fine" and "dime" prick my sensibilities. "August" and "podcast", well, that's just mean. And I understand the argument that intentional use of half rhymes can convey a more relaxed feeling, I don't care. They feel lazy to me.

Rappers get all this credit for rhymes, but usually I think they are terrible. Not just because they don't mind half rhymes, but also because they try and turn their metric laziness into capital through syncopation. And far too often these rhymes are simply strings of words that rhyme and no fully-formed thought is attached to them. I find this about as clever as thumbing through a rhyming dictionary.

Even Eminem got unearned credit for supposedly rhyming with orange (which he did NOT). Here is an excerpt from a fawning interview about this:

"If you're taking the word at face value, and you just say 'orange', nothing is going to rhyme with it exactly.

"If you enunciate it and make it more than one syllable, or-ange, you can say, like, I put my or-ange, four inch, door hinge in stor-age and ate porr-idge with Geo-rge."

There's a reason why this man is considered an absolute lyrical genius.

I'm sorry, but if you're going to claim that four inch and door hinge (and George for God sake) rhyme with orange, you've set your bar insultingly low. Here's a (true) rhyme for orange:

Her hair of shining orange
Glowed bright as any star
And the way she smiled was more ang-
Elic than angels even are

I get such pleasure out of hearing lines that not only contain perfect rhymes but are also syllabically pristine, with every single syllable stressed properly. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious follows all the rules and it's a beautiful thing. And so hard to do and have it come off as naturally as this does:

Because I was afraid to speak
When I was just a lad
My father gave me nose a tweak
And told me I was bad

But then one day I learned a word
That saved me achin' nose
The biggest word I ever heard
And this is how it goes

While I'm thinking about it, here's another favorite example, "Real Live Girl":

Pardon me miss
But I've never done this
With a real live girl
Straight off the farm
With an actual arm-
Ful of real live girl

Pardon me if your affectionate squeeze
Fogs up my glasses and buckles my knees
I'm simply drowned
In the sight and the sound
And the scent
And the feel
Of a real
Live
Girl

Damn that's good work. ... and this is part of why I haven't been writing lyrics lately.

[Duncan]

Well, and I mean this sincerely, the only thing I like more than some [decently-conceived] half rhymes is a hater going on a rant. I hear this is what the SF forums used to be like. More please.

I recoil more at certain vocal affectations, but we all have our peeves.

[Jim of Seattle]

I hear this is what the SF forums used to be like. More please.

I admit I was a large participant in those contentious forums of yore, and an instigator of my fair share of contentions. I have often thought back aghastly at that edition of me and vow to be better should I ever come back. To be fair, that was early social media days and the whole world was still just beginning to figure out how to do it. (Still a work in progress. I hope.)

Then when I came back recently I was disappointed it was no longer like that. These past few weeks of re-songfighting has been significant for me because I had spent so long thinking about how I was so much more of a dick in the forums than I am in real life (please believe me!). And in the ensuing years as the Twitbookagram world has shaped the flavor of social media, I realize that I had fallen for the trap that so many the world over are still stuck in, namely the promotion of the id when typing for the invisible online audience. I came back to SF for reasons of my own, but I was wary of the inevitable forum participation that comes with it. At first I vowed to not engage, to just participate by doing my little pieces and that would be that. But the pull of forum engagement was too much and I succumbed.

Bottom line: When I left SF I didn't stop thinking about it, and it's been a fascinating thing to think about while away. It's a very special and unique thing Spud put together so long ago, and now that there are so many online social platforms everywhere, it's becoming more and more remarkable that SF has yet to fall into the troubles that plague so many, if not most, of the rest of them.

So, while I've been years away regretting my old douchebag online self, now that I'm back, even though it's for unrelated reasons, I am coming to realize that maybe these forums here need a little of that old self again, and maybe I wasn't as bad as I remember. And maybe my desire to get verbose about music to what seems to be an edge-of-the-bell-curve degree is something I ought to lean into rather than try to correct, because it appears I am unique in that way.

I recoil more at certain vocal affectations, but we all have our peeves.

Oh man, what an opportunity. Your turn to rant. God knows that third drawer from the top left in my cabinet of musical opinions is stuffed with vocal affectation peeves, so should you let us know what yours are, I can get the step ladder out and take out some of mine. Two words: glottal fricative. Ugh.