SOMESONGS - ROUND FOUR

[Jefff]

Add - For some reason, I have Add in my mind as a guitar band, but no biggie; there's that trademark slightly too loud keyboard. Nothing wrong with the song at all, but just a bit predictable overall. Points for the lyric but also points off because of the 'avenue' rhymes are a bit basic. I guess that applies to everyone though, so I'll take that into account when it comes to scoring. I guess if I squint my ears hard enough, I can just about hear the later Kinks in this, so that's points as well. OK, in case you couldn't tell.

I didn't make second-half organ loud enough.

[Caravan Ray]

I did an Ed Keupper homage last week. Next week could be Tim Rogers or Jeremy Oxley.

Ohh. I just realise I have given myself my own internal challenge that I might follow from here on in.

My Sideshow was Brisbane inspired.
Hapless Avenue was very Sydney

Melbourne Perth and Adelaide are still up for grabs.

Which means next week won’t be Tim Rogers or Jeremy Oxley inspired. Both Sydneysiders. Maybe David Mcomb, Nick Cave or Jimmy Barnes.

[Mr. Blonde]

Like Mr. Brown, I think this round really pushed the limits of the scoring system for me. I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing yet, but my final scores definitely don’t reflect the *order* I would have ranked the songs. But I think that’s the whole point. Anyway, I digress.

Also, just FYI, none of the judges can see each other's ratings until *after* the round is scored. I suspect we will fall in very different places this time around, based on the excellent reviews I've read thus far. Anyway, now it's my turn.

Add - In headphones, I found the doubled/alternate vocal melody to be a little distracting and annoying. (I have been a fan of that approach in the past.) But in monitors, it works just fine! I’m enjoying this new age of Add psychedelia. And because you’re sticking to the same instrumentation for this competition, I think you’re going to have a really nice, and cohesive, package of songs. There’s nothing to dislike about this song.

Caravan Ray - I’m not a huge fan of recitative songs, but it works really well here, probably better than a sung vocal. So congratulations on having that very smart instinct and selling it. The lyrics are really nice - specificity like “The Cross” and “Junior Murvin” (I have no idea who that is, but I just looked him up and if you put that in there to troll Mr. Orange's reggae comments, well done!) really elevates and elucidates the story. I ticked you down a bit for Performance because the sung sections near the end could be cleaned up a bit and I do think the song is a little on the long side. But these are quibbles - it’s a really good song.

Glenn Case - Nice job with the challenge. I always enjoy a god acrostic. This is one of those songs that definitely benefitted from the scoring rubric. My impression of the song is that’s it’s okay. It meanders a little bit and I blame the chord progression. (There’s nothing wrong with the chord progression - it just lives in a state of stasis.) But I can’t deny that the lyrics, production, performance, and challenge are all solidly good. So, even though I liked Mr. Caravan Ray’s song more than this one, you actually earned a slightly higher score. Again, this may be a feature and not a bug, but I noticed it in this round more than the others. Anyway, another solid entry.

The Idiot Kings - Three chords suits you well! At the outset, I feel like I’ve found a lost Modern English song. The refrain line “It’s just a good day to be dumb” is one of those lines that seems a little too goofy on the surface, but it’s got so much indie rock swagger, I can’t deny its effectiveness. (If Lou Reed sang it, people would have t-shirts bearing the line.) My real problem is with the rest of the lyrics. Hapless Avenue, Idiot Place, Unlucky Street, Imbecile Part—it’s all a little too predictable. I really like the tasty electric guitar that precedes the last refrain. I listened to this song many times and it kept growing on me. I even started to like the mandolin.

Tomorrow - Man, the first verse is the most I’ve ever liked your voice. (Try not to read that as a backhanded compliment.) That’s your sweet spot, man. There’s a lot to like about this song. The chorus is catchy and I love the bridge, especially how it builds and builds through that repeated line. (Your voice sounds great on the bridge as well. And nice slide guitar there as well. Or is it a theremin?) This song also grew on me a lot.

I thought all of these songs were really good. You guys are killing it.

[mo]

It is in fact a theremin! I just got one, er, because of reasons. Mostly envy that Owl got one

But apparently a bunch of people in the greater SF/ST circle have gotten theremins so I guess we need to start having theremin duels

[frankie big face]

The judges tell me results will not be posted until tomorrow morning. This is because of a) time zones, maybe? and b) they don't like to post the results before the listening party. So I'll just post results and the new title tomorrow morning when I get up.

[the idiot king]

*Unless of course a) The Idiot King is in reality an idiot, which I strongly doubt; but having never met him, cannot confirm or deny or b) this is a joke, which again cannot be confirmed or denied; but if it is true, adds too many layers, man![/size]

I also can neither confirm nor deny. That probably points in a direction.

[Jefff]

. There’s nothing to dislike about this song.

Ah well. Next time I guess.

[Mr. White]

Nice work on these songs all around. I appreciated the ways folks fulfilled the challenges. Here are just some brief comments.

ADD - I'm struggling with the deliberate simple instrumentation of just organ and drums. Maybe it's a constraint you've put on yourself to facilitate inspiration or getting these completed. If you stick with it consider exploring some more of the range those instruments have, to have more arrangement variety and dynamics. Like maybe change the drawbars or the Leslie speaker rotation speed on the organ, really switch up the drums like go from full snare hots to rim hits, maybe include some hand percussion, etc. The song kinda drags for me cause the different parts just feel a little samey as it is, even with the way you are trying to change things up between them.

Caravan Ray - Nice change of pace to hear a sincere song from you, and it's a good one.

Glenn Case - Lots of the usual Glenn Case goodness that I enjoy. I'll echo Mr. Blonde that I also felt like something was off with the pacing of this. I think you've got cool instrumentation at play but I think the parts need more instrumentation variety to distinguish them from each other more to make the flow of the song felt more, and/or maybe have more marked transitions.

Tomorrow - I'll echo Mr. Blonde again about the singing, the main vocal sounds really good. I found myself really getting into this one, but not being able to put my finger on any one standout element other than the good sounding vocals. It's well done.

The Idiot Kings - I think there's a lot of potential in this but that it's not quite there yet. I really wish you'd drawn out the hook line "It's just a good day to be dumb" so that it ran through four measures. Echoing Mr. Blonde again (sorry!) I also felt like the "Idiot Place" etc. proper nouns were kinda clunky. I think in this and a couple of the other songs I preferred where the "idiot" aspect was implied by what was being said rather than being said outright.

[Caravan Ray]

“Junior Murvin” (I have no idea who that is, but I just looked him up and if you put that in there to troll Mr. Orange's reggae comments, well done!)

I also put in a 2-4 beat skank guitar through the whole thing and used the Island Reggae 01 drum loop from GarageBand

Caravan Ray - I so wanted you to include some elements of reggae this time, so I could really wind you up again with a 'idiot glee' review, allowing me to claim a challenge point from this side of the creative divide;

....sigh



In all honesty though - the Junior Murvin reference was another nod to Paul Kelly, who references him in the sublime "How to Make Gravy"



I also had to google him - and can't believe that I only just learnt he was the guy that wrote "Police and Thieves" - later covered by The Clash. And in the Gravy song, Mr Kelly describes a Christmas party where a family member is in prison and:

And later in the evening, I can just imagine,
You'll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back
And you'll dance with Rita, I know you really like her,

Of course they would remember their brother in prison by dancing to "Police and Thieves"!! One of the greatest songs ever written just got even better.

A few judges mentioned my talky/singy-type delivery. Again - I was trying to channel Paul Kelly. "Gravy" is a good example.

[the idiot king]

The Idiot Kings - I think there's a lot of potential in this but that it's not quite there yet. I really wish you'd drawn out the hook line "It's just a good day to be dumb" so that it ran through four measures. Echoing Mr. Blonde again (sorry!) I also felt like the "Idiot Place" etc. proper nouns were kinda clunky. I think in this and a couple of the other songs I preferred where the "idiot" aspect was implied by what was being said rather than being said outright.

I'd argue that lines like "crossing without looking" and attending a petting zoo with a shark imply idiocy, but that's fair.

[Mr. White]

The Idiot Kings - I think there's a lot of potential in this but that it's not quite there yet. I really wish you'd drawn out the hook line "It's just a good day to be dumb" so that it ran through four measures. Echoing Mr. Blonde again (sorry!) I also felt like the "Idiot Place" etc. proper nouns were kinda clunky. I think in this and a couple of the other songs I preferred where the "idiot" aspect was implied by what was being said rather than being said outright.

I'd argue that lines like "crossing without looking" and attending a petting zoo with a shark imply idiocy, but that's fair.

Yes, and I heard and appreciated those lines. That falls under the "I preferred where [it] was implied" as in I like those lines of yours in the song over the ones that were more on the nose.