Okay, doing these over the course of the day and evening.
Deshead
I really love this song. From intro to end, the harmonies are lovely, it's hooky, and your voice has an undeniable Rivers Cuomo quality when you go high. Terrific melody line, varied just enough to keep it fresh. Production quality is top-notch, and lyrically you're solid, too. There is -nothing- wrong with this song, I'd buy your album, and the video would be played to death. Even that vocal lift on the last "I couldn't cry" and your flawless closer -- it's got my vote, and I don't think anyone else can take it away. Definitive. On the mp3 jukebox it goes.
The Hell Yeahs
I could complain about the mix sounding a bit thin, and I could complain about your husband's shouting being unintelligible enough that I had to check the lyric archive, but why bother? This is fun, clever, solid songwriting, and your vocal is the most endearing grrrl thing I've heard since Veruca Salt. The guitar sound has me jealous, too. Great stuff. Loses to
Deshead in the same way that the #2 song on the charts loses to the #1 song. Love it. Going on the jukebox.
Hostess Mostess
After OLVCP, I wouldn't have pegged you for something this goofy, but you sound terrific, and the vocal drums are inspired. The layered vocal melodies are terrific, and so clean; it's very easy to follow each line all the way through, a hard production trick to pull off. "...the big black train..." dipped below your range, and the initial notes ("got no struts") worried me for a second, but that just puts you a few punch-ins away from perfection. Really beautiful. If
Deshead and
The Hell Yeahs are competing on the popular charts, you're off the radar with a devoted cult following. Whee dischord! On the jukebox as well.
Motor Monkeys
Fun fun fun. Your voice is a bit goofy, and your arrangements evoke the B52s, but in the best possible way. The conversation with yourself is far more entertaining than it should be. Great guitar solo. Solid in every way. I don't know what to tell you; it's a great song with no noticeable flaws, and while I'm going to put you at #3 on the charts, next week you could be at the top; I flipped the same way on "Snow Fort", where my second choice became my first a few weeks later. On the jukebox it goes.
Oh, and yes, you are a star.
Tuba Toothpaste
Fun and silly, like something from National Lampoon. I picture Bobby running people over and then winking at the victims and them winking back, a la Mentos commercials. It's loose, thin and awkward, but in a way that's completely appropriate for the subject matter. I still wanted more bass and a tighter cohesion between the two vocal tracks, though. Ultimately quite infectious, and I can't stop grinning, especially with the sax solo. Jukebox, here you come.
Desolation Radio
Good score on those movie samples; what movie is it? The backing music is appropriate, although I'd like to see you start with less energy at the beginning (ultimately building to the same amount as you've got now, just before they drive away). You lose me on the vocals and solos because of the awkward timing, though. Good sound effects throughout. You know, thinking about it now, if your vocal had been more of a shrill, insane scream than a deep, throaty mumble, I'd have enjoyed it a lot more.
Ross Durand
Solid lyrics, solid performance, solid production, nothing wrong with this at all, other than a little harmony trouble on "...that brand new car". Your delivery of the vocal melody is much stronger than I remember from your past performances. I just wish the chorus had been more complex, reaching up a little higher vocally to bring the energy and enthusiasm up. Also, "We had a pretty good run, but things became undone" stuck with me as a bad choice for some reason. Great length for a guitar-only story song; if a backing band had kicked in at the end and you'd had a more infectious chorus, you could have rocked out for another three minutes. Nicely done.
Hans Gruber: Ultimate Villian
Relaxed and mellow, unique for this fight (so far). Production note: I can hear the background noise from your vocal mic cut in and out as you chopped sections of silence out of the track. Three suggestions: run it through a gate, put a quick fade in/out at either end of each chunk, or leave the background noise in for the duration of the piece (it added atmosphere). That quibble aside, the harmonica solo and mellow guitar noodling was great, and the minor key vocal melody line really stood out. Good percussion choice, too; musically there's a strong Beck vibe for me here, with a tiny splash of Tears For Fears. I always like outro whistles to bring the whimsy. I enjoyed this, but couldn't stop myself from wondering how this would have sounded with Ross Durand's delivery style...
Posi Traction
Nothing like a good ol' garage band cut, haven't heard much like this on
Song Fight! in my limited time here, so it was a pleasant surprise. Sadly, like most garage band takes, it sounds like you had more fun playing it than I had listening to it, but it certainly made me smile. Aw, shucks, I was expecting a big tacky "throw it all in there" rock-out ending -- I don't know how you restrained yourself, I certainly wouldn't have been able to. There's still something lacking, but I can't figure it out.
On second listen, I think I figured it out: I feel like "brand new car/brand new car" was a good (vocal only) build to a chorus that never materialized. Get the guitar chords changed to support that vocal build more dramatically, then follow with a vocal line that's got you screaming an octave up from the start, and you have your hook. Or at least a sore throat.
Luke Henley
Not my bag, I guess, because I have a hard time keeping my songs from sounding like this accidentally, but an interesting little jot nonetheless. That "make me happy" thing is uplifting somehow; no idea why. The song itself is cute, and I like the organ sound immensely.
Titans of Eklekto-clash
Nice ambient soundtrack from the get-go. Odd at first to couple it with a Richard Cheese-style delivery, but after a while it all fits together nicely. I've always been fond of the words "leatherette" and "chromium". Oh, what's this now? "Rolling grave" indeed. Overall very well-crafted, kind of like taking a
J$ song, speeding the music up, and slowing the vocal down. Abrupt ending, that, but appropriate for the subject matter. Definitely fun.
On second listen, I like how you (inadvertently?) foreshadow the crash in the opening with "...windows cracked".
Baron Von Smith
Synth-pop, baby! Production note: that's a lot of treble, ow. I like your voice; pull it out of the effects some and be proud of it. Songwise, the melody is perfect for what I assume is intended to be an 80s period piece. For the second verse, I wish you'd layered in another voice harmonizing, to alleviate the fact that you're repeating the melody. I would love to hear this with an up-to-date arrangement, by the way. I like the closing bridge very much, shame you didn't bring the chorus back again. Adorable isn't quite the right word, but it's close. Nicely done. Sadly, the treble-fest production quality will keep it out of my mp3 collection.
On second listen, I like the bridge very VERY much, melody
and lyrics. With your voice and delivery, "automobile" was exactly the right word to end on.
LMNOP
Wow. Unexpected. Terrific, all the way through. Your voice carries the perfect I'm-not-taking-this-seriously tone to support the lyrics and style, but the harmonies are solid and clever; it would have been easy to screw this up, but you pulled it off. Great great great. Got me laughing out loud there a couple of times.
On second listen, bassoon! Heh. Okay, this goes in the collection, although my friends are going to look at me funny when it comes on the stereo.
On third listen, these lyrics are really well-crafted. Gets better each time. Bravo. This gets the #1 spot on Dr. Demento's Funny Five (does anyone else remember that?) Possible vote, surprisingly.
Noise Brigade
Everything that's right about this song is in the lyrics and melody, while everything that's wrong about this song is in the nasal delivery and sketchy guitar work; it's a strange dichotomy. But, as well all know, this is
SongFight!, not PerformanceFight!, so good work. Keep it up, and over time your performance skills will catch up to the rest of your talents. I look forward to hearing you improve.
Brick Pig
Classic blues, nice to see this in the fight. I won't bother with production quibbles, because that's not important for this style. Fundamentally solid through and through, and I like the Beatles lyric reference. I hate to say it, but I am reminded of something another musician once told me: "You're the best bass player I've ever heard who has no technique or style whatsoever." You nailed every note (figuratively and literally) but there's no swing, no heart, no groove. A different take, a good night's sleep, or just a nice piece of pie before recording might have solved the problem, and as far as I'm concerned it's the only problem you have to solve. Well done through and through.
Lonbobby
That piano without sustain in the opening notes is very jarring. Okay, halfway through the first measure of vocals I
hated this. By the end of the second measure, I was really impressed with your melody, and it grew on me by the beat. From "My brand new shoes, they feel like air" I was completely won over. Really nicely crafted and pleasing. The increasing complexity of the background music is perfect. I love the vocal treatment and harmonies, especially the subtle moments like "...has everything". "Luxury edition" treatment and delivery is definitive, couldn't have done better. The final "...brand new car" treatment and delivery is the opposite, and tarnished an otherwise steller performance. I didn't think this was a keeper at first, but it triggers a childlike emotional response in me. No idea why. Into my collection it goes. Sweet.
On second listen, that "Brand new shoes" line really is the turning point for me. If you'd sung anything else, it wouldn't have worked. (clapclapclap)
On third listen, I could vote for this, too.
King Arthur
Another blues number, wasn't expecting that. Having two blues numbers frame
Lonbobby's entry is strange and cool. This song isn't quite as good lyrically as
Brick Pig's entry, and the delivery isn't quite as tight, but it has the groove and spirit that
Brick Pig's was lacking. All it needs is a tighter performance and some backing vocals. Perhaps a little call-and-response between you and the band:
"It doesn't have to be a Bentley"
("No, no")
"It doesn't have to be a Benz"
("No, sir")
...and so on. I enjoyed this, and the percussion is terrific. Well done.
Andy Balham
This song makes me sad, until you hit the "same old s***" line, which makes me think "did they need to swear?" I do like the rhyme of "brand new car" and "caviar". Overall, this song is okay, but not great; I just can't entirely shake that depressing sad feeling, and I don't like feeling that way when I listen to music; sad songs need to have hope in there somewhere. So perhaps you should ignore my comments on this one. Sorry.
Explino!
On opening strings, it's old Nirvana. On distorted guitar, it's timing problems. By the time the lyrics start, the timing problems are fixed and it sounds very modern and big-label-produced. That wandering digital ripping noise in the left channel is aggravating, though, and detracts from what is otherwise a fun and energetic song. I love the chorus melody line, that gives the song a fantastic hook, perfect choice going up in the chorus instead of down. Seriously, that hook is so friggin' tenacious, I found myself waiting anxiously for it. This is a rockin' good song, and this could be track one on your record company demo. Fantastic. Fix the opening guitar timing problems, rip out that noise (or get it out of one ear), then add a harmony to the chorus -- just make sure you keep it light and mostly unison, because you don't want to spoil that great hook.
On second listen, dammit, I wish I'd written this. Damn damn damn. In the collection it goes. If this isn't #1 already, it's climbing the charts in a hurry.
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It is at this point in my reviewing that I started to review two songs I'd already reviewed before. Holy gee, this is a big fight!
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Steve Durand
Great trumpet, terrific arrangement through and through. If that's MIDI trumpet, I want to know what you used to create it, because it sounds stellar. The only thing wrong with this song is the vocal delivery. Mind you, you sound really good, but it's a bit midwestern rec hall dance. Your killer arrangement demands a full-on Richard Cheese delivery.
On second listen, "XM Radio" and "Gauges all aglow" is a great rhyme.
- - - - -
Whew. I think I made it. If I missed anyone, I apologize. I'm not going to self-review, because I have already said my peace in earlier comments.
I have -no- idea who to vote for; there are so many good -- no, GREAT -- ones here. I may have to draw straws.
Oh, hey Deshead, that "best part" element of your reviews rocks. I'm completely going to steal that.
