Now pitching for the Giants! Jesus!!! (Saving Throw reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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Rabid Garfunkel
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Now pitching for the Giants! Jesus!!! (Saving Throw reviews)

Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

They could sure use him.
"Urban cartoon music." -- Paco Del Stinko
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Post by Stubby Phillips »

I wonder if He had a good arm, or just The Power Of God behind Him? Hey... if He could walk on water, He could probably produce a 103 MPH fastball!
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Post by Cärpetbürn »

erm, in case anybody wonders about the id3 on our song, that was an accident. We promise the song wasn't written before last week :oops:
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Post by Nigel (spOOn) Clements »

These reviews sound a little harsh, but they are based on a first listen, (I'm approaching the whole reviewing process a little differently this time, all will become apparent later this week).
Although I've probably over-compensated for that with my odd marking system.
And as usual, because nobody ever reads this bit at the top... Suck my Mother-fucking sponge hat goblin trouser buttock.

Hans Gruber: Ultimate Villain
Sweet fade in, nice guitar sound, (though gets a little repetetive), vox are rather muffled, and they shouldn't be because they have a nice tone, but I'm afraid they are lost, the whole track is suffering from that I've accidentally wrapped my scarf round the mic syndrome, I actually like this but could enjoy a whole lot more. Nice fade out.
6/10. (should be a 7 if it weren't so muffled)

Rabid Garfunkel
Okay nice idea, nice sounds, interesting rap (almost a telephone rap), but when all's said and done it's only 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' and not a lot else, excellent overall sound though, I just can't get much of the connection.
6/10 (mainly for sweet production)

Danyer
Slow rap, is rather hard to do, and you usually do this style really well, but this is sounding rather laboured, (I'm guessing you didn't run through this many times), Alternate vox rap, is a touch more relaxed, though it would have been nice if it had come in with more attitude, sort of like a break-down, because by 2:20 there's not much variation, then the high voice comes in and it rather starts to sound like you're just messing around, and the last minute is a bit of a ramble, good idea, lacking in direction.
5/10 (sorry, I usually like your stuff a lot more)

Carpetburn
Okay, now am I right in assuming that this is the full band as opposed to Pedro's Meddling Kids? this starts rather sweet, then the drop out at around 0:50 is just spot on, I'm hoping this kicks back in very soon, yeah it did, but kind of missed a beat there, this needs a few more takes before recording, kind of thing I'd listen to on a regular basis, just needs tightening up, overall feel is sweet, needs to rip up a bit stronger/louder second time round before dropping back to that nice bubbly melody.
Not really listened to the lyrics first time, just liking the overall sound.
7½/10 (Basically for the possibilities this track describes to me)

The Frontalittle Squad
Hmmm this could suffer by being another slow rap track, aha! this is rap whilst playing AD&D, Oooh nice singing at 1:14 (shame it didn't last long)
beats are cool, but lacking variation, I'd suggest every third drop in two extra bass hits to break it up, and every fourth bring in something in contrast to the bass, some nice 'Doo Doo Doo' alto sax maybe, the rap/s are cool but this does go on far too long without changing much.
6½/10

Steve Durand (Carnival Latin Master)
Shit man this is really reminiscent of something sort of 'Andy Williams' maybe. Your voice is maybe not as strong as in previous weeks, you're struggling to push your it onto those low notes, quite a nice little track, but once again, this sounds rather hurridly put together.
6½/10 (Once again, you're normally on my fav list, but this is not your best)

The Cow Exchange
I've been so looking forward to this one, hmm! kind of skip-jazz effect is disturbingly nice, sort of a mish mash of styles in the first minute, nice singing once again though, I'm still waiting for the hook though, first break is rather cool, like the ringing bells at 2:10. I have to say I'm a little dissapointed with this, once again another track that promised so much, yet kind of let itself down, in this case I think you've tried to put too much in, I absolutely adore the final 30 seconds or so,just too much variation and not enough direction, although (and it takes me to the end of the track to come to this conclusion, because I'm a bit thick), that its the vocals that tie the whole thing together, but in this case it's almost but just not quite enough.
7/10

Jolly Roger
Opera?!? okay this is a short one! good intro, double-up vox are good, but arrgh! they are just too low in the mix, nice sounds, the vocals are rather fighting for supremacy, and it sounds half finished, the 1:04 was very nice (could have been better, but nice all the same), tag another 1:04 on the end and stick 15 seconds of manic thrah guitar in the middle and I'd vote for this, unfortunately as it is, I feel unsatisfied, sorry!
6/10

Thanks for the Frisbee
Relevant/Elephant is nice, vox are sweet (I've said it before very 'Cheese on Bread'), nice harmonies, vary the guitar line a bit because it does get a little repetative, though the once again the vox are carrying the track, (nice as they are though)
7/10 (Once again for the possibilites offered).

@eclectic spOOns
I'm kind of quite happy with this, it's getting closer to what I want to achieve (still about 8,000,000 miles away though), but I'll just keep following the advice and keep trying to get better, despite my voice.
6½/10


Cheers to all for the tracks this week and keep up the good work.
Last edited by Nigel (spOOn) Clements on Sun Jun 04, 2006 3:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Plat »

Ohh, so we're supposed to post reviews here.

Carpetburn - This song starts out as a loud, distorted mixing nightmare, but settles in around 0:33. Not sure what the lyrics are, but I like the singer's voice, and the back-and-forth of the chorus. The guitar noodlings are this song's biggest strength; kudos to you on those. Unlike previous Carpetburn songs, the drums feel a bit too synthy for me. The sequencing is just dandy, but please try another patch if you can help it. The cymbals don't vary enough.

The Cow Exchange - Not my favorite song to submit, but I've been holding back a few entries and the waste has been bugging me. The verse starts sparse, swung in half-tempo, then the pre-chorus pulls it back into the CowEx style you're more familiar with. The vocals aren't as tight as I wanted, but the deadline and I didn't get along. The lyrics are about a superhero towel. Like towelie, I guess, but he doesn't get high. It's a slow burn, but check out that guitar tone ;-). Hopefully it plays better live.

Danyer - Holy crap these lyrics are nuts. Did you just switch the topic from "igniting cats" to sex and rape? And ripping off Meredith Brooks? I see we have another falsetto-ist in the house. Don't tell Puce. The ending rant about hair and your name is always welcome. Consider the word delivered.

@eclecticsp00ns - I love the lyrics, but the vocals rub me the wrong way this week; seems like they could be a bit more melodic. Rhymes like Galactus/fractious, "I'm indoors with a +3 sword", etc deserve better treatment. The instrumentation is pretty cool though; the drums keep things movin' and the synths are nice and dark. Try playing with a stronger vocal melody, or at least tighter timing. The timing on "I've been reading..." feels clumsy, as well as "She's got her new friends / I'm holding hands with".

The Frontalittle Squad - The beat is teriffic; I love the "ohhmm"ing, whatever that's called, on the left. The story flows well. Bonus points for not using "gay" in any rhymes. Favorite lyrics: "The Dapper Dan trapper man who’s not a rapper fan", "there goes my thief, like right click -> delete". The most distracting aspect of this song is how all the rappers have varying mic clarity; some great, some not so good, and this becomes more apparent when rappers interject mid-verse. Not sure what you could really do to fix that, though. A quality mass-collab work.

Hans Gruber: Ultimate Villain - If I listen really carefully, I can hear the vocals, and even more carefully, the handclaps. You've got a lot of good stuff going on here, but a lot of it feels panned to the center, so all the parts clobber each other. Did you just play the same chord progression for 4 minutes? It sure feels that way, except maybe the bridge at 2:14. Even the outro consists of these same chords, to a fade-out. What you've performed, you've performed well; maybe it's time to shake things up a little more?

Jolly Roger - Like the 'spoons, but perhaps moreso, I'm hearing a bunch of vocal timing issues that don't mesh with the drums. The melody's cool, and I like the quick pace (tempo and short length) of this one. The mirrored guitar solo works. The vocals feel quiet in the mix, and a bit dull; it's probably your mic, but maybe you can play with compression/EQ on that.

Rabid Garfunkel - After some googling, I'm going to assume this is full of Babylon 5 references. Wikipedia even taught me how focusing on mary and her lamb is a defense from telepathy. Mad props for making me learn stuff! The music itself is insane, with its huge distortion, synth bass, and theremin-like noises. The rap vocals are decent for this theme, though normally I'd ask for something with a little more feeling. A fun, short song. This is insane. You are insane.

Steve Durand - Wow, neat. Perfect horns, a nice loose percussion, and jazzy bassline. Production is strong. Exactly the type of song I wouldn't expect to be discussing RPGs. These horns kill me with strength and harmony every time I listen. The weakest part of this song, I think, is in the vocals. It just feels like you could be stronger, and that you're trying to sing lower than your natural range (this also makes me a hypocrite). Just once I want to hear you belt it. But even so, this is very great. You know what you doing.

Thanks for the Frisbee - You pull off the "guy and guitar with layered vocals" trick pretty well. Vocals are very clear, even after layering, and the pitch is just right. I like the spatial width of the "ah ah"s too. Melodically very Tom Petty. That, and he's got a song called Honey Bee, so it comes hand-in-hand. Your lyrics were good but they depressed me. I am sad now. Witness: :( :( :(
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Post by Nigel (spOOn) Clements »

Plat wrote:The timing on "I've been reading..." feels clumsy
Cheers mate, that's just so spot on, I actually had to insert a whole extra bar just to make it fit because I couldn't bare to take anything lyrical out, but if you take a look back (and I'm sure you won't, why the hell should you :lol: ) this is quite prossibly the most together thing I've done, and it's really nice to hear your comments, mainly 'cause for the first time in songfight, I actually feel like I deserve them and I'm not just annoying people.

Thanks Mate!
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Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Plat wrote:Rabid Garfunkel - After some googling, I'm going to assume this is full of Babylon 5 references. [CENSORED] even taught me how [url=http://en.[CENSORED].org/wiki/Mary_had_a_little_lamb]focusing on mary and her lamb[/url] is a defense from telepathy. Mad props for making me learn stuff! The music itself is insane, with its huge distortion, synth bass, and theremin-like noises. The rap vocals are decent for this theme, though normally I'd ask for something with a little more feeling. A fun, short song. This is insane. You are insane.
Bravo, my man. Gold star for you! Here's the episode the song refers to: "A Race Through Dark Places".

And as always, yes, that is a theremin.

Reviews to come.
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Post by Steve Durand »

Plat wrote:
Steve Durand The weakest part of this song, I think, is in the vocals.
I agree 100%. I was very dissapointed that I couldn't do a decent sounding vocal track becasue I just LOVE the music in this one.

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Post by Reist »

spOOn wrote:Jolly Roger
Opera?!? okay this is a short one! good intro, double-up vox are good, but arrgh! they are just too low in the mix, nice sounds, the vocals are rather fighting for supremacy, and it sounds half finished, the 1:04 was very nice (could have been better, but nice all the same), tag another 1:04 on the end and stick 15 seconds of manic thrah guitar in the middle and I'd vote for this, unfortunately as it is, I feel unsatisfied, sorry!
6/10
Plat wrote:Jolly Roger - Like the 'spoons, but perhaps moreso, I'm hearing a bunch of vocal timing issues that don't mesh with the drums. The melody's cool, and I like the quick pace (tempo and short length) of this one. The mirrored guitar solo works. The vocals feel quiet in the mix, and a bit dull; it's probably your mic, but maybe you can play with compression/EQ on that.
I'm going to try to explain this one - I think I did before, but this is in a bit more detail. It was the night before the songs were due, and it was 9:30 at night. I had tried to do a Saint Gratus thing with some other fighters, but it didn't really work out - so I decided I'd make a song. It was written, recorded, and mixed by 9:30. I wanted it to be at a better pace, as Blue said something about my songs dragging, so I did it at a different speed than usual. I sent it in at 11:00, and I liked it quite a bit. Then this weekend I went on a trip and I'm back. I listened to it again, and I just noticed how poor it's mixed - I really agree with what you guys said. The low vocals was something I didn't notice during the mixing. I for some reason thought the mix sounded good, and now I can't even hear them. I didn't really have time to do any EQing since I was so rushed ... as for a crazy guitar solo, you probably know why I didn't do that. Thanks for the reviews - this is a pretty good fight!
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Post by Hoblit »

JR, I too mix my vocals low on initial mixes. (Besides the fact that we all need to get away from our songs and then come back to them with 'fresh ears') We probably do this because we know the lyrics and as long as we think we can hear them we think they are fine...basically because we know each and every word and WE can make the lyrics out pretty easily. I find that when I do get back to the mix, I'll have to notch my vocals up a step or so and maybe EQ them so they stand out a bit more than my original mix down.

Just my guess.
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Post by j$ »

Yup - what Hoblit said. Or a short-cut I use - mix the vocals to where you feel they are just right ... then increase their volume by another 5% (or -10% if you really care if people hear every word). In my experience, when I think 'ummm, those vocals are just a little on the loud side', that seems to be the optimum volume for other people, based on review response.

And like Hoblit said, if you make any major changes (like turning up any mid-range instruments, adding new parts) repeat the process.

Just a suggestion - the other day, I watched the opening of the Hitchhikers' movie, where they have a musical number, and i was amazed at how many of the words went 'missing' ...

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Post by Cärpetbürn »

I should admit that I'm listening to these on headphones and there's music in the background so that'll affect how i hear the songs

@eclectic spoons: This is a lot more driving than I'm used to from you. It's not bad; there are things that I could like more about it but my main bit of advice is that you should try and concentrate on the rhythm and flow of the lyrics, because regardless of taste, there are bits where it's building some momentum and it's all ruined by one or two badly placed/executed syllables (Rone style, hope that's not too harsh a comparison. it is just one or two). I'm guilty of the same thing myself occaisionally, you need to go back over your vocal once you've recorded it and find words that miss the beat or are too forced and find a beat for them to sit more comfortably on. This might mean re-writing the lyric to add or remove a syllable here and there for the benefit of the flow; it'll feel stupid at the time, quibbling over a single syllable, but when you listen back to it it sounds so much better.

Hans Gruber-ultimate villain: I like the 90's indie stylings creeping through the headphones. This is like Teenage Fanclub but with more daring chords, cool.
It's not trying anything new and it probably goes on longer than is necessary but I can't really fault this otherwise. yeah, it is a bit repetitive but no bother

JR: aha! really enthusiastic midi drums, this is kinda fun. It sounds like you're covering Caravan Ray. I like that you try a lot of different styles and this may be one of my faves of yours. I like the contrast between excited music and bored sounding vocals, short and sweet, the way i like it. sometimes

oh Stevie stevie: Oh man, killer intro! I'd hate to be you, because I'm about to say a negative vocal comment (which is really constructive, i know). I mean, you're great at what you do, and what you're not great at you have very little control over which is just not fair. But I guess life's not fair, and as soon as you get a partner with a sweet set of vocal chords stardom will beckon. believe. and once again great song

Thanks4ThaBee of the Fris variety: Jangly GnG attracts boring reviews. but I like your style more than most GnG's on songfight (with a couple of exceptions). so, good song, probably won't vote for it but one day I will stream all your entries and have a Frisbee session and I think it'll be cool. nice one

Rabid: This may be my least favourite so far. It reminds me of this song I heard last month that this guy who runs a record shop played me by this drunk Irish dude. He'd been writing this song for about 3 years and it was about a scarecrow and sounded like he'd ripped of the Prodigy. oh how we laughed. still, this only took a week and it wasn't THAT bad but that's about as much of a compliment as you'll get from me for this.

CowXchange: ooh dramatic. ah clicks. hmmm ballady? no, rock! yeah this is good solid stuff, but it doesn't immediately make me go 'wow!'. nothing sounds bad, my favourite bit was where it was just the acoustic and errr....what are those things called, was it one of those piano thingy's that you blow into? that bit. It deserves more listens, and is among the best here.

Danyer: This might actually be the first track I've heard by you. Ain't bad, the beat could do with beafening up, the organ does the trick but i'd like it to be switched up a bit. Cat noises are always good. lyrics are cool, they have to be i guess. I'm gonna listen back to this when i get home too

Frontalittle: In contrast to Denyer, this has the production skills but as far as the vocals go I think this suffers from style over content, you've got some nice little lines and question/answer bits but the words don't do much for me. I like that there are lots of vocalists, keeps it interesting, and the backing track is nicely put together as always. Not sure about the squidgy bass, but i've never liked those kind of bass sounds.

Carpetburn: Probably our sloppiest entry. apart from a few bits that need refining I really like this, but once again it sounds best after about 20 listens
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Post by Rabid Garfunkel »

Reviews, reviews, reviews... between FAL, HG:UV, and SD voterianly, though sp00n gets the honorable mention for writing my own personal soundtrack this week.

Carpetburn
Busy arrangement, bordering on wanky at times, but man, the purity of the notes are pretty pretty pretty. Vocals are kinda thin compared to the lushness of the instrumental sounds.

Cow Exchange
More nice music, though the piano tone makes me think of Meatloaf for some reason unknown to me.

Danyer
I choose to think of this as an allegory for the method of curing that chemotherapy engages and nothing else. Unpleasant song.

@eclecticspOOns
Been there, man. I'm there right now in fact. Weird how that works out. Like the early '80s sound.

The Frontalittle Squad
Best writing of the fight. Good story. Contender. [edit] Choruses remind me of something Kip Addotta would have in one of his songs. [/edit]

Hans Gruber: Ultimate Villain
Nice, quirky sound. Like the quacking guitar tone. Contender.

Jolly Roger
What y'all have already said about the vocal mix, I agree. It's okay to breathe audibly on a track, man. That's a lot of words in there, but I can hear how you're hearing the rhythm of the words in your head.

Rabid Garfunkel
Find toys, make noises with 'em. Had fun doing it, but unfortunately it's too referential lyrically and doesn't hold up if you don't know the source material. http://www.songfight.net/forums/viewtop ... 0562#60562

Steve Durand
Best instrumentation of the fight. The first words out of my mouth once this started playing were "That goddamned bastard!" That's high praise, actually. Weird Christmas nerd-jazz in 6/8. Beautiful. Contender.

Thanks for the Frisbee
A lot of SF Harmony (trademark) in this fight. Pretty song, and yet dark and creepy. Good 'un.
Last edited by Rabid Garfunkel on Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Nigel (spOOn) Clements »

Thanks once again for the advice guys, sorry to hear that things ain't going so smooth 'rabid'.

Okay spent all day listening, and everybody is a grower this week, I've whittled it down to between... Carpetburn, Cow Exchange, Jolly Roger and Hans Gruber. Hopefully will reveal my secret Review technique tomorrow evening (Brit-time).
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Post by j$ »

i voted for danyer.
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Post by Steve Durand »

Rabid Garfunkel wrote:
Steve Durand
The first words out of my mouth ... were "That goddamned bastard!"
I get that a lot. :D

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Post by Kweep »

carpet burn - kinda cacophonistic... but pretty interesting. a smidge too noodley for me... but the chorus is nice and hooky! vote?

cow 'xchange - maybe dropping the pinano an octave would help it sound more 'real'? decent vox but i hate autotune (can really hear it on 'girl'). not bad, but not really grabbin me.

danyer - raps not quite pullin' it off. some interesting sounds though.

spoons - pretty interesting sound... pretty dark in fact. the vox might have been cooler with less of a distorty effect and more of a... i dunno, somethin else. flange? extreme chorus?

little fronty squadlet - pretty cool. soooooo, gangsa geek! not the bestest rhymes ever but pretty funny. hah! stevie wondery chorus? get the fuck outa here... vote?

hans gruber - fade in? vox is too buried. could be kinda nirvana-ish with real drums, crankier guitars and screamier vox.

jolly roger - feels like it needs all down stroked 'punk' guitars, not the delayed ones. not too bad, and nice and short.

rabid & garfunkel - pretty alright... the drum patch choice is a little... 'thin'?

steve d - sweet horns. sweet melody. lyrics a little iffy. about a minute into it a peed myself laughing cause i had an entire broadway cast of ubernerds dancing in tights and rolling dice in my head. vote?

frisbee - man, i love yer vox. great melody. pretty ok lyrics. vote?
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Post by Reist »

Reviews!

Thanks for the Frisbee - I like this one more than the other ones I've heard from you. I sort of wished you had mixed it up a bit more later on, since it got a bit tiring for me. Not a huge problem there though. I like it quite a bit.

Carpetburn - This is really cool! Aside from drum beats being a bit distracting, I'd say that this is a great tune. Oh ... the ending's a bit annoying. I love your vocals through the rest of it. Good job.

The Frontalittle Squad - I'd never heard you before ... is this like a collab effort or something? I like it - it's pretty much an awesome song, but my personal preferences against most rap might keep it from being a vote. Good length too.

Danyer - I don't mind it, but I don't love it. It's pretty cool sounding, but It just doesn't click with me. I'd give some constructive criticism, but I don't know anything about rap.

Hans Gruber: Ultimate Villain - Really original. For some reason reminds me of classic rock bands like the Beatles and stuff. It's definitely a possible vote. I really like the tones of the guitars and vocals.

@eclecticspOOns - Kind of repetitive. I guess I can appreciate the work that went into this, and the more I listen to it, the more I like it.

Rabid Garfunkel - I wish there had been more to this. I really liked what there was. Good job with this one, but if the song is short and it's pretty much the same thing the whole way through, try throwing something in to mix it up a bit. Good job overall though.

Cow Exchange - I like how the pianos caught my attention right of the start. It would have been good if there had been some effect on it, but that's not much of a problem. Great length for what it is too. Totally reminds me of everything I wish my music could be someday, once I've got more skill, experience and talent. I totally love this one.

Steve Durand - Woah. That caught me offguard. Pretty cool. It's not really my thing, but I like it nonetheless. I love the chorus brass run. Great job pulling this one together.

Jolly Roger - So I've explained this one above, but I'll sum it up here. I hate the mix, the drums were rushed in programming, and the vocals sound kind of bored. Other than that, I think it's at least more of an energetic song than I normally enter.

So I liked this fight. It had lots of different styles, so it was hard to pick, but I'd say Cow Exchange has my vote. Great job to everyone.
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Paco Del Stinko
Hot for Teacher
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Saving Throws - Reviews

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

I'll try to be more direct here than in previous reviews. I like all of the songs and enjoyed the fight.

Carpetburn - This threatens to not hold hold itself together at times yet does. Love the melodies, guitar tones and playing, instrumentation and dynamics. One might go mad if it didn't breathe in as it does, but mad with butterflys and such.

Cow Exchange - Great builds and layering. Nice seperation and voicings. Is that a hooter? "Nervous Night" is somewhere in my vinyl collection but I like this much better!

Danyer - People are idiots. I like this despite how it bumps into itself along the way.

Eclectic Spoons - Somewhat cold yet compelling. I would have liked the breakdown around 2:00 to have been further explored. Only thing I didn't like was the occasional click track count that springs up.

Frontalittle Squad - All the differant personalities and styles are super. It might've been cool if they somehow popped up later on with an exclamation or something. The chorus keeps it all tied together nicely.

Hans Gruber - A few shadows here and there could be brightened up w/o losing the great atmosphere. Something arrangment or layer wise between 2:35-3:00, even that close to the excellent fade, could give it a breath. I like the bass line too.

Jolly Roger - It wobbles a bit but it's good. All of the parts are fine ideas and I think that they work well in the right to the point arrangement. A good overall vibe.

Rabid Garfunkal - Its brevity is its saving throw. I enjoyed the upbeat dementia and especially the synth drum fills. Works for me.

Steve Durand - The vocal melody is fine despite the already talked abouts. Instruments and thier tone, arrangement, playing, tempo - all excellent. I'm becoming a fan.

Thanks For The Frisbee - Vocals could tighten here and there but that's being petty. Sweet melodies, the different harmonies - nice. I hear where other instruments might go, but I don't see as this needs anything else.

Great fight. I so enjoy all of the different styles here at Songfight. Paco will vote by secret ballot before the deadline. Zum Wohl!
Bringin' the stink since 2006.
HansGruber
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
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Post by HansGruber »

Howdy partners - sorry I'm late as usual with my reviews. I thought this was quite a good fight with an interesting variety. Truly inspired by a lot of the tracks. Thanks for the reviews, I agree with everyone's comments. Yes, it's a four-chord wonder, and my production still sounds muffled (bad mic, limited eq). I'm used to turning down my vox since they're usually out of tune. These are issues that have plagued me for years...Plat, I totally agree it's time to 'shake things up more'. Yes, yes, yes....Thank you Carpetburn - I've been trying to think of what my track sounds like, and you nailed it: Teenage Fanclub!

Carpetburn - Nice meandering tune...reminds me a bit of Long Fin Killy...ever hear of them? I think they came and went out about ten years ago...? Inventive melodies and progression, really like the harmonics in the break at about 2:00 - cool effect. The plucky guitar tone is gorgeous (sounds kinda african), actually all the tones are really great. I especially like the 'melodic' drumming, really adds to the dynamic. If I recall correctly, this is fairly signature of your sound - you're always a frontrunner for me. Im a sucker for your arrangements.

Cow Exchange - Another strong contender. Goddam love this one. I really like the synchopated opening, but I feel that the smoother parts become a bit more conventional, or predictable; not that that's a bad thing. I just really like the sparseness of that part - it's a little wierd and tense. Love where you take the end of the song with the sawtooth sounds, and the outtro. All your playing and singing are just great! Really impressed with your pipes.

Thanks for Frisbee - Beautiful tune. Has a simplicity similar to 'Blackbird', great that you can carry it off with just the vox and guitar. Like the panned vocal harmonies in my headphones. Lyrics are really unusual - I like that. Something really cute about singing "honeybee". Just wondering (from my production heavy-handedness) if a little percussive knee-slapping might keep it rocking a little more during the choruses? Just a thought...

Steve Durand - What fine brass. I'm sooooo freakin' envious! Everything instrumentally is so key I want to cry. Is that you drumming, too? Great swing - can't tell if they're real or electronic. I'll save the comments about the vocals, since you've heard the same from everyone else...I'll just say that a composer with your genius hires vocalists to do their dirty work anyway. Lyrics are ok - a bit one-dimensional, but they're kind of funny juxtaposed with such an amazingly competent jazz track.

Danyer - I usually like any song that starts with "this is one for the ladies" but I'm a little uninspired by this one. It's not really my thang - it's silly and all, but not hysterically funny. Some good stuff, maybe not 4mins worth. I do like the loop - the organ and detuned piano (or whatever that sound is) are just fabulous and really work with the whole demented vibe. Word to your motha, beotch.

eclectic spoons - Good lord, man - you sound like Peter Boyle in 'Young Frankenstein'. It works with the riff, though, in demented sympathy. I'm not one to talk about production values, but this one could use some sweet love to bring forth the sweet dark goodness. I really like the gothic driven bass line especially during the chorus. Some of the electro-distortion is pretty inspired. Love the line "She's in the nightclub, I'm in the dungeon" Funny lyrics, great multi-dimensionality, but I'd like to hear it delivered more 'seriously' over such a driven track.

Frontalittle Squad - This is really quite great. Big points for re-appropriating that Mostess sample, the hiphop beat turns it into something else entirely. This is definitely the winner of the D&D reference award. I'm glad someone(s) totally went there. All the lyrics and stylings are excellent, and all complement the whole song, which is really an amazing accomplishment considering the number of contributors and the limited time frame. I'll have to head over to the Lyric Archive to soak in the full majesty of this golden nugget...

Jolly Roger - A good little song, but I'm not sure if all the pieces quite fit together. Could the hi-hat track be at half the time? The whole thing feels a bit rushed (though I guess it works with the urgency of the lyrics). Really like the descending guitar notes and the vocal harmonies. If you're up to it, I think the song just needs some more time to get it "there" - you've got some good parts.

Rabid Garfunkel - What the hell does this have to do with the song title? Ok - just checked the lyric archive, and see you've taken some license. I've never seen Babylon 5, so I'm still in the dark. I usually like the twisted tracks, and while there are some moments here, it's good you kept it short ;)
Evil never looked so good.
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jeffhenderson
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
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Post by jeffhenderson »

I've kind of been lurking for this fight, and I must say that I really dig the Cow Exchange. Really nice clever melodic stuff here.
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Nigel (spOOn) Clements
Mean Street
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Post by Nigel (spOOn) Clements »

...'triffic reviews of the week award goes to... 'Hans Gruber'

Okay chaps it's... GUEST REVIEWER TIME! and this week it's Terry who's 47 and is my postman, take it away Terry...

Hans Gruber: Liked it straight away - very Foo Fighters
Rabid Garfunkel: Not my sort of thing but I wouldn't kick it out of bed. good sounds.
Danyer: OK if you don't like music! Brilliant if you hate cats!
Carpetburn: If I listen to this once or twice more I know I'll Like it. I need to reconcile the manic with the twinkly and the party vocals.
Frontalittle Squad: Again, really not my thing but well put together. I can see it's commercial appeal.
@eclectic spOOns: Ian Curtis with a bit of Prodigy lurking somewhere in the background. Scary!
Steve Durand: A few wobbles with the vocals (maybe an off day?) but the rest of it - liked it a lot.
Cow Exchange: Nothing wrong with that! would, like some others in this selection, be a track somewhere in my album collection.
Jolly Roger: Slight lack of continuity was the only minus - Liked it.
Thanks for the Frisbee: Clever, almost eerie lyrics. Nice sound.
Would vote for Hans Gruber straight off, but after many listens then it would probably change to Carpetburn.

...thanks Terry.
Ok and I've decided my vote goes to Carpetburn, but it's one heck of a close thing.
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