How, Then? (Not Like That reviews)

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 4:47 pm

blue wrote:i think what most people tend to say is that you're an ignorant retard, but thanks for denegrating our opinions.

[...] snip [...]

so, in short, shut the fuck up.

thanks.

I'm dedicating my song for next week's fight to you blue!

Leaf · Post by **Leaf** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:11 pm

It better not suck then!

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:36 pm

Anchors: well i don't want to start a mutual-love society here, but this song is right up my alley. it is the mutated love child of sonic youth, pixies, and a $4 bottle of mezcal, worm inclusive. great energy and musical motion throughout.

Fruit Valley: I love songfight because of shit like this. Completely inaudible and insane, with lyrics about getting poopreamed by a chick with a strap-on. Right on, lads. But what is the lyrical point at the end? You're saying you don't want to be poopreamed, but then you're like "it's like throwing a hot dog down a hallway." Is your pooper too stretched for the strap-on? It's all very confusing. I think you should concentrate on really delivering a coherent lyrical message.... freaks.

Ill Crix: parts of this are really good, but the call and response gets old quick. i think it's left-speaker's apathy during that bit. right-speaker is hilarious.

KWEEP: Well I'm thinking "Neil Young vibe, OK with me" and then you sing "Neil Young!" so now it's ruined, I guess. evocative of your average canadian lite-rock act, with a giant bass drum. lots of potential but never leaves the middle of the road. brings back memories of Barenaked Ladies, where i heard "the old apartment" and thought they were the greatest band ever and then hated the rest of their entire catalog.

Middlemarch: Welcome to songfight, I've been enjoying your first couple of entries. This one seems to throwback to those mid-80's adult alternative bands like Timbuk3 or David Baerwald - interesting songwriting with an edge that doesn't quite bring out the signifiers that we're craving for "edgy" music. Great little vocal tricks there, borrowed from TMBG or not. I would enjoy this song played live while drinking very cold pints and watching some basketball. Pretty sweet guitar solo as well. This song has just enough of everything to work but not enough of anything to really stand out - but it's still very good at what it is.

Special Relatives: what the hell. this one is come and gone before i can get a handle on it. i've listened to it three or four times and i can't tell you what i think of it. maybe you need to tune, maybe tuning would ruin it, maybe the mix is perfect, maybe it's total shit. who knows. this one will just have to live in mystery.

tiggernuts: adventurous. fewer samples and more playing would have nudged into the "worth paying attention to" category.

zero effect: yep, you can't sing either. welcome to the club.

melvin: it started out interesting, but left me feeling like i'd heard the intro to a good song and never really gotten to the song itself. the pop punk sneer just ruins it.

kohlz-n-maxx: just awful. are you even listening to the beat?

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:44 pm

blue wrote:[...]evocative of your average canadian lite-rock act[...]

sweet! luv me some byron... errr, brian adams...

Smalltown Mike · Post by **Smalltown Mike** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:48 pm

blue wrote: Ill Crix: parts of this are really good, but the call and response gets old quick. i think it's left-speaker's apathy during that bit.

He's not Apathetic. He's Australian.

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:50 pm

australiopathetic.

kweep, you're kidding about bryan adams, right? that's.. pretty sad if it's true.

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:57 pm

blue wrote:australiopathetic.

kweep, you're kidding about bryan adams, right? that's.. pretty sad if it's true.

big time kidding... but i did see him at the 1985 Texas Jam (not on purpose... he was on the bill with rush, ozzy, 38 special, gary moore, etc.)

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:41 pm

Kweep wrote:
blue wrote:australiopathetic.

kweep, you're kidding about bryan adams, right? that's.. pretty sad if it's true.
big time kidding... but i did see him at the 1985 Texas Jam (not on purpose... he was on the bill with rush, ozzy, 38 special, gary moore, etc.)

then how do you explain that leather jacket with his picture on it draped over the pile of 7" singles in your closet?

we know the truth, mr. kweep.

Kweep · Post by **Kweep** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:55 pm

blue wrote:then how do you explain that leather jacket with his picture on it draped over the pile of 7" singles in your closet?

i don't have to explain myself... and stay the hell outa my closet.

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:33 pm

blue wrote:it is the mutated love child of sonic youth, pixies, and a $4 bottle of mezcal, worm inclusive

You GET me.

DJ Big Dick · Post by **DJ Big Dick** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:41 pm

blue wrote: i think what most people tend to say is that you're an ignorant retard, but thanks for denegrating our opinions. emo-pop is about as interesting as a large pile of turd and mechanical competancy is fine and all, but we're here to hear songs.

your (stupid) statement is easily dismissed by the number of mechanically sound entrants who, even when monotopical, do not raise the ire of a large portion of the community.

people such as Starfinger, Carol Cleveland, Brick Pig, Puce, Mostess, Frontalot, etc have all submitted a number of high-quality entries. they get few complaints. why do you think that is?

you're young, songfight-ignorant, and easily influenced, so your lack of taste is probably forgiveable, but that doesn't mean we have to sit here and take misguided accusations of jealousy.

so, in short, shut the fuck up.

thanks.

Wow, you just slapped him in the face with your dick.

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:35 pm

blue wrote: I am stating my opinion while telling you that you aren't allowed to state yours.

Thanks for your input.

Middlemarch · Post by **Middlemarch** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:08 pm

Fruitvale Station vs. The High Street Bridge
Problems with the gtr and drums. Potential here -- nice riff. Heh-heh, he said "strap-on."

The Zero Effect
Interesting groove. Vocals are weak -- pitchy, etc. Need to sing with more balls. Can I say that? Is that okay to say? Nice change around :45. I also like the prechorus around 1:25. The chorus is the best part here, but again, the vocals are distracting. Potential!

Tiggernaut
Fun with noise. Sounds like you were trying out a new toy, though, not composing a song.

The Special Relatives
The doubling vocals is awkward. Would work much better without it. Some simple rhythm would work well, too. Annoying -- I want to hear the lyrics! Could be so much better with bass, too.

The Phuntastic Phour
I like the simplicity. I like the speaking parts. I can't dance to it, but I can't dance anyway. It ended just as I was getting annoyed. Nice effort because it's so simple.

Middlemarch (me)
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I tried something different with this mix. Eh. I need better monitors. I wanted to write something more driving than my previous ones. I need better drum sounds. The guitar solos were last-minute rushed. The one at the end was a total rip-off of Muddy Waters. But who better to rip-off?

Melvin
Good solid mix. Vocals are a bit high, but I like the EQ on it. I also find myself looking very much forward to the chorus, but it's a bit of a let down. The verses and choruses don't really gel. The verses are much stronger, while the chorus seems to get in the way. I don't want to stop tapping my foot....

MC Kohlz...
Cute opening. Stupid lyrics, but I'm sure you weren't going for anything different. The vocals are very loud. Not a good mix. Sounds like you all had fun. I like the synth sounds starting at 2:00. Otherwise, the music is boring.

Kweep
I like your voice. I'm not crazy about the lyrics -- a bit campy (this coming from the king of camp). I don't know why, but this isn't doing it for me. It's the drums. The guitars. That's it. It sounds very processed. A tamborine and more true-sounding acoustic would make this so much better. Maybe some stronger backing vocals too. A good, complete song, though...."If I believed in God..."

Anchors
Guitars are so loud -- very distracting. Like the vocal effects, but the overall mix is awkward. Vocals are weak in the verses, much better in the chorus -- ballsy.

Ill Cricket Crew
I like the drums kicking in toward the beginning. The vocals mix pretty well with the music, which has just enough variation to keep my interest . Okay, 4 minutes of this is two minutes too much.(genre-bias card?)

MM

Middlemarch · Post by **Middlemarch** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:22 pm

a bebop a rebop wrote: Middlemarch - This is definitely angrier than your last song. I'm digging this much more the second time through. I like your voice, and the slower voice and then the doubled voices in the chorus are cool. I could have done without the guitar solo, it's just fine, but not doing anything for me. The whole feels just a bit hollow and thin though, like there's not really enough energy here to sustain the song. Oh, I really like this second solo here a lot. I like the overall band sound a lot more during the solos, maybe consider having a lead guitar throughout the
song or something like that.

Thanks, man. Yeah, I tried leads throughout, but couldn't get them to sit well, so I ditched them. I might give it another try, though. There's a second rhythm gtr in the 2nd solo to give it more depth -- I should've done that throughout. I was pretty happy w/the chorus vocal parts gelling. Totally spontaneous and I think it worked. "Hollow and thin.." that's me, except the thin part. Haha.

It's my shitty little drum machine. It's my first, and I've only used it a few times, but I'm already sick of it. Thanks again.

MM

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:47 am

A little late getting to reviews. I only have a few minutes so here goes.

MiddleMarch I actually like the "shitty little drum machine" sound. Some cool guitar and I like the "let's go" before the solo. It never feels unwelcome at 3 minutes. It's not boring or too long and it's a solid song throughout.

The Phuntastic Phour Not my thing. Hurts my ears.

Tiggernaut Good for what it is, a fuckload of samples. Having heard the songs that you've taken samples from almost makes it cool, but I hate those songs.

The Zero Effect Some nice guitar so far. The vocals are awkward, and I can't tell if it works or not. Like when I listen to Morrisey, sometimes it's different and sounds cool and other times it's just really fucking annoying. It definitely warrants a second listen when I have more time.

More reviews later.

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:04 am

i really can't decide who to vote for here out of those four that i liked.
I'd encourage some last minute vote-grabbing antics if I thought anyone was listening

Mogosagatai wrote: Tiggernaut was originally designed to be Karl's Mom & the Delicate Flowers' tribute to WreckdoM

who's in Karl's mom....? out of interest. I like that 'nicely toasted' track

Fistula · Post by **Fistula** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:17 am

Furrypedro wrote: who's in Karl's mom....?

.... too many jokes ... head going to explode ....

I'll settle on:

Who ISN'T in Karl's mom?

Clats · Post by **Clats** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:22 am

Furrypedro wrote: I'd encourage some last minute vote-grabbing antics if I thought anyone was listening

The Ill Cricket Crew would appreciate your vote. If a victory comes of it this will offer justification to our wives that a Friday night of drinking/rapping is not a slovenly waste of time and it will allow us to tell our children we are not a complete bunch losers.

If we don't get your vote, we are just happy to have been nominated.

Middlemarch · Post by **Middlemarch** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:14 pm

Furrypedro wrote:I'd encourage some last minute vote-grabbing antics if I thought anyone was listening

I'm spending a quality day at home with my two young children, a 3 1/2 year old and a 3 month old.

(read=I'm ready to tear my f***ing hair out). I could really use a boost.

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:17 pm

well you both make a good case.

Fistula wrote:.... too many jokes ... head going to explode ....

the thread was slowing down, I saw an opportunity, I took it

Kill Me Sarah · Post by **Kill Me Sarah** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:30 pm

Furrypedro wrote:well you both make a good case.

I might be an undiscovered genius.

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:40 pm

How is this for a vote grab? I played the bass with my teeth and the guitar with my feet.

At the same time.