Smalltown Mike wrote: And as for the accusation that this is too EmoGoth—dude, I’m far too old to be emogoth. But yes, this is a ... love song.
But
Smalltown Mike also wrote:
I love you, I do
I would do anything for you
Tie me to the tracks and you will see
I was made for you and you for me
...
I would take a bullet for you
I would drag a blade across my wrist for you
Who are you trying to fool here?
"Warren Zevon would be proud." -Reve Mosquito
Stages, an album of about dealing with loss, anxiety, and grieving a difficult year, now available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms! https://jonporobil.bandcamp.com/album/stages
I'm still working on reviews, but won't be able to do so before the voting deadline. While my vote is still undecided, my top five favorites are Ben Krieger, Evil-E, Hostess Mostess, King Arthur, and Otalgia. I'll post some reviews later this evening once I've had a chance to get through all of the songs.
I'm with ya Smalltown Mike. There was a time in history when people finished their words. They said things like Emotional and Disrespectful. None of this "Emo" and "Dis"-ing crap. Love-filled folksy songs were emotional. Unfortunately, that means someone out there's gonna label you as Emo. (unfortunate for the label, not the Emo) And it's cool, cuz you are emotional... but not Emo in the sense that Emo is now a style. Like everyone one on this site without a major label contract is Indie (cuz they're independent) and even Alternative (cuz they're the alternative to what's being played on mainstream radio) but those words have been assimilated by the guru's who print labels for genre's... so unfortunately those words can't be used as loosely as before they became burned into rubber stamps. If Plato were here, he would bust a rhyme about definitions of terms (he, being a rapper at heart). But he's not, so I say just keep rockin' in a free world. Good song. I dig it.
When will we learn that the only labels for music that have any validity are those that are coined by under 20 somethings. (insert sarcasm emoticon of your preference.... >>>> here! )
...and this comment is not directly aimed at GenEric, but more at the obession with labelling music so that people can either reconcile their identity or worse, assume to know someone else's. It made sense to me when I was 14. Now... it's just unrealistic.
Either we are a world that relies on generalizations, assumptions and categorical grouping, or not. You can pretend there is an inbetween, but reality trumps opinion folks. (I love that quote... courtesy of Bob Brown).
Slapping a label on music doesn't REALLY tell anyone anything about it... because your definition of the term is not an absolute. Case in point, I had a student of mine tell me a few years ago that he was "really into classic rock " (instantly my head fills with Buddy Holly, CCr, the Beatles...bands I associate with "classic rock") when the kid says "yeah, Metallica and Aerosmith".
So... the label thing, especially in a cross-generational forum like songfight, is pretty useless, unless one was too provide, say a definition of what the hell they mean?
Even still, to tell another artist, or even infer "you intended to sound XXX" doesn't work. It's an assumption, not a fact, and that assumption makes an ass out of you and...well, out of you.
But still.
I am comfortable with labelling SM as "emo" anything just cause the idea of SM crying into his reverse-mullet whilst carving his initials into his inner thigh because no one is addressing the plight of the sea otters lulls me into a confident, relaxed slumber.
if you guys haven't noticed, dragging razor blades across wrists has become an obsession for the young emo crowd. it's not about love and devotion, but more about trying to convince others that their depression is worse and that they are, therefore, more real or valid within the emo scene.
fodroy wrote:if you guys haven't noticed, dragging razor blades across wrists has become an obsession for the young emo crowd.
I guess this was sort of what I was joking about—the fact that I HADN'T noticed because I'm not really all that YOUNG in any crowd, EMO or otherwise.
Is mine an overly ricidulous romanticized dramatic song about proving your love by kiling yourself? Hell yes. My joke was that I'm too old to know that fact made the song emo. I thought it just made the song a love song.
But it was just a joke, and we have way more serious bidness here. We've yet to classify and label Leaf.
I dub him Beat-centric Goofy-haired Heavy Stonefunk
Hi - I thought that this was a strong and varied fight with plenty of mood to go around. I liked something about everything even if it was only something small.
Ben Krieger - Stonesy intro and whiffs throughout. Nice instrumentation, voice and lyrics. When it ends I wonder if it's too short and then go-"Nah. Just right"
Bewells - Nice playing, singing - everything sounds great. Early on, primarily, the rhythms didn't seem to line up to me, but they did after a couple of listens. I like how the lead guitar apears to just do what it wants instead of pattern, switch, pattern.
Electro Martyr - Vocals way too stiff - coming from me! I like the mad scientist synth sounds but feel as though they lack balls and direction. Made me think of a Van Halen song!
Evil E - The 80's route Neil Young didn't pursue. I like this a lot, with the repeating guitar line. Good playing and arrangement, the vocals could stand taller. I would've enjoyed playing on this one-bass maybe.
Hostess Mostess - Nice train through the plains motion. I enjoyed the vocal layers esp. and love the surprise bridge- it worked for me going both in and back out. Nice. No need for drums or perc.
Jacob Lynn - I can almost see the rain coming down the front picture window. I like the shuffley rhythm although it could come way up and still not take over. A loose but nice song. Was that a doorbell ringing in there?
King Arthur - Comfy, articulately played and sung. It sounds so easy. The strings do what they're there for. A nice, patient song.
MC Paul Denyer - I like the wiggling sheet of metal in the rhtyhm, but only so far. The song gets monotonous for me, but I appreciate its brevity. Say it and get out, I guess.
Otalgia - Great main riff and downshift. I enjoyed the Jute Gyte vocals up front like that and also their doubling and overlapping. Guitars could pack a bigger punch but they're nice and tight. Good song.
Paco - My 5th, and I believe my worst, entry. So cheap, esp. after Otalgia.
Phunt Paper Orch. - This one's too wobbly for me. I like the ambiance and the casual attitude and a few of the lyrics.
Pumpkin Buzzard - Noisy and disconcerting, I like the tense mental breakdown of it. Dark and manic, the train must've been en route from Spookytown. I like it a lot, but need a nap after listening to it.
RattPoizon - Some great playing and riffs, it might be too ambtious for itself. It doesn't find a proper direction. That was a LOT of time spent programming that drum machine though, wasn't it?
Sidewalkers - My friends and I did stuff exactly like this, wasted, years ago. It's fun if it works, temporarily, but this one didn't. Thank you for taking a bit of stink off of my submission though!
Smalltown Mike - I like this much. Many elements that I enjoy in music, like the simple, in a good way, layers and parts that fill up space without crowding it. I don't know about the 'emo' stuff, but I'd rather compare it to early 80's angsty club band rock. This would sound great played live in a small, crowded club. (or elsewhere too)
Uncle Tex's Hairy Nephew - Great rhythm and I dig the almost chant-like chorus. I esp. enjoyed everything going at once near the end. The censoring steam whistle made me cringe and smile.
Again, good fight. I can't vote for my own song as it is certainly not worth the vote. Good luck to all!
Okay, so this is a bit sensitive... I seem to have missed the fights this week entirely without yet downloading them, but I was waiting to ask this -
So most people probably don't know this but my brother-in-law (my sister's husband) was killed in a train accident when he was in the Army. I'm really leery about this fight. Is anything in here going to make me angry or sad? I'm serious here, so please no jokes.
-bill
My song references two people that I knew, long ago, who were both killed by trains. It is not detailed or intended to be exploitative. And people don't seem to have a problem skipping it either. However, there are some excellent love, or emotion related songs within. Perhaps check out the reviews as you might not want to miss a couple of them.
Bill - yes there is some lyrics in here that will make you sad. Probably King Arthur's entry might hit too close to home.
I'm not very musically gifted but I listen and try to add some constructive reviews from time to time.
Ben Krieger - enjoyed the pace, liked the lyrical play on words. felt the vocals could be tighter the tone is good but tend to hit off notes, at least to my untrained ear. but enjoyed the feel of this song very much.
BeWells - enjoyed the chorus, the pace felt like you were on a train. Did I detect you throwing in a little twang to your voice? I felt the vocals and the instrumentation were mixed well. You're definitely getting better at this.
Electro Martyr - chorus is reminiscent of 80's depeche mode. Definitely surreal. The harmonizing vocals are disturbing. I think that is the point of the song.
hostess_mostess - enjoyed this song. The guitar's rhthym caught me off guard, which I liked, it feels as if it has an extra two notes that offend my sense of timing but at the same time make the song memorable. The bridge was great! I enjoyed the changeup.
jacob lynn - sound quality is distracting. Almost a "they might be giants" garage sound, but I liked it and I am not sure why yet.
king arthur - loved the lyrics, so sad. This seemed detailed enough that it might be based on a real event, is it?
MC. Paul Denyer - liked that it was relatively clean. these lyrics are hilarious. Is this stream of consciousness rapping, or did you have to spend time constructing those lyrics? Either way, it's funny, thanks!
Just realized mah podcast client skipped a couple of songs, so here are more reviews:
Hostess Mostess - I'm a big fan of alternate time signatures (Time Out is one of my favorite albums) but while this guitar part is great and has a nice little groove, it does feel a bit strained, and a touch off here and there. I like the overall band sound where the bass comes in. Unfortunately, I don't dig the piano bit at all. Too Jim Brinkman for me. Nice song overall though, especially the choral bits.
Paco del Stinko - Nice big fat sound. I don't really care for the low voice doubling of the guitar line but the band entrance after that makes up for it. Pretty fuckin great wailin guitar stuff. I didn't really care about the lyrics I could hear. Wasn't really enough going on to hold my interest either, sorry.
Wasn't really enough going on to hold my interest either, sorry.
You certainly don't have to be sorry: I'm glad that you gave it a chance, and appreciate your comments. I had thought that you might have just ignored it, and am glad that wasn't the case. Thanks for taking the time to update. And your comments don't keep me from enjoying your song either, so there!
ben krieger: first off, this is way too well produced for songfight. how long did you spend on this? do you have a job? a lot shorter than i was expecting. i thought it was going to build up to a big emotional climax.
bewells: good guitarness. just your dog and a beer eh? the lyrical ideas are a bit too country cliche. the piano is nice. not incredicly noticeable, but i think it works better playing shyly in the background.
electro martyr: the beginning is awkward and far too outgoing (odd word choice). the melody gets lost in the production and it ends up sounding like weird clicks and beeps with some dude in a tunnel singing a random modern rock song over the track.
evil-e: who is in this band? the song is nice. the vocal tracks seem to have a little too much glitter on them. some of the lead guitar stuff is annoying as hell.
hostess mostess: not doing much for me. the repetition is a bit much. i think gold is overrated.
jacob lynn: stand closer to the mic for the vocals. i like the piano a lot and the guitar that follows it around. nice emotional break in the last quarter of the song.
king arthur: best lyrics hands down. the music is nice too. i don’t have anything else to add really.
denyer: awesome track. i expected a more ridiculous vocal delivery based on the lyrics. i laughed a few times at this.
otalgia: right off the bat, this is not my thing. yeah, i can’t really get into metal unless it does something really cool with the genre.
paco del stinko: grunge via white stripes with stephin merrit on guest vocals? not bad. i like the weird ohs during the heavy riffage section.
pumpkin buzzard: you guys are insane. the bizarre chorus thing is awesome. you guys are one of the most creative bands in the sf/ss community.
ratt poison: judging by your description in the lyric thread, i’m not going to enjoy this. nope. not my thing.
sidewalkers: sounds fun. next week, please submit only one song.
smalltown mike: what is emo about this: the lyrics, claiming that you would die for your love, razorblades; what is not emo about this: the music in general, the delivery, the lack of emotional release. this wasn’t a bad song, it’s just that whole melodramatic (a better word than emo) lyrical quality that sort of gets in the way. it’s not a new idea to die your love, but you didn’t offer any interesting twists on the concept.
uncle tex…: the music is cool, the censoring is never cool. i think this one gets my vote.
fodroy wrote: first off, this is way too well produced for songfight. how long did you spend on this? do you have a job? a lot shorter than i was expecting. i thought it was going to build up to a big emotional climax.
I have too many jobs. For this recording:
Everything is fed through my UA 610 preamp into SONAR on a PC.
The guitar was miked on the neck with a condenser, body with a rode tube
vocals done separately withthe rode tube
organ is all Native Instruemtns B4 MIDI, baby. Great program.
electric guitar is also fed through the 610 direct via and SansAMp GT2 preamp. That gets you a GREAT should without having to wake the neighbors.
For "Cable Beach" I had to much to do...it's 15 minutes long. All vocals and acoustic guitar were recorded with a shure 57 preamped with a FMR Really Nice Compressor.
I'm sorry to hear about your bro-in-law. My condolences. Most of the songs use the title as an analogy, saying that the good or bad news was like unto the title. But some are very literal and agreeing with gimpel, I'd say skip the fight. Besides... new songs should be out soon since this fight ended, so I'd wait for those and jump back into the game. Hope that helps.
Denyer:
Get a rhyming dictionary for your birthday? 2 redeeming features to this: 1) the chorusy, "hit by a train" bit is very good, and 2) "Ed's brother Jed's other brother named Fred" cracked me up.
Otalgia:
This is great. I'm no metal-head - but this is great. That freefrom instrumental bit almost goes into jazz territory. I hate jazz too. But this is great! Job well done - I really enjoyed it.
Electro-martyr:
Pretty shithouse. The vocal melodies in the chorusy sort of bit do veer dangerously close to being interesting - but the bleepy background and sloppy singing mean that this really never rises above shithouse.
Smalltown Mike:
So is this what emo is? I've never really understood what 'emo' was supposed to be. You just sound like a 30-something gentleman who listened to a lot of the Cure and Violent Femmes in his younger days. I like this. I love your voice - I could listen to you sing the phonebook - but while pretty good - I've heard you do better. It sounds a little formulaic.
King Arthur:
Sound like you've got your Jimmy Webb trousers on.
Beatifully written - but I don't like it. The idea of a song relating an unfortunate circumstance in the words of some overseeing disinterested entity is really wonderful - and the way you tell the story is first-class. But there is somethng too blunt about the "hit by a train" lines. This needs a film-maker approach - show us the tracks and lets us hear the whistle - but spare us the moment of impact. This is a great effort - but I find it unpleasant to listen to.
Ben Krieger:
Great voice - great delivery. Not really my thing - but I really like the performance.
Ratt Poizen:
Love your lyrics - hate your song. It works better as poetry.
Evil-E:
That guitar riff reminds me of Coldpay - therefore you lose points. The vocals remind me of indie bands coming out of Dunedin, New Zealand in the early 1990's (eg. The Chills, The Clean, Straitjacket Fits) - so you gain points. The more I listen - this is pure Flying Nun records stuff. Do you know what I'm talking about? If not - google Flying Nun/Dunedin sound. I like it.
Pumpkin Buzzard:
Love the opening - pretty much hate the rest of though. Kudos for the effort - but a bit too asymetric for my poor old ears.
Sidewalkers:
Yes - alcohol is fun, isn't it
Paco del Stinko: Though you haven't been around here long - I feel I love you like a brother. I don't like this one much though. Bit like Pumpkin Buzzard - not for me, but please keep doing it.
Hostess Mostess: I hate those wanky rhythms. Voice is magnificent, as is the guitaring - but would it kill you to use 4/4 like every other bastard?
Phuntpaper: Oh great! Self-indulgent adolescent caterwauling! My favourite!
Jacob Lynn:
Very nice - great melody. Some of the recording is a bit dodgy - that guitar sucks. Few too many gaps in the lyrics - but that stronger voice coming in towards the end is very good. I like this a lot. Just a tip - wearing a bucket on your head in a live situation can be a good idea - but if you do it while recording it makes your voice sound muffled.
Be-Wells:
Hands down - the best song in this fight. Nice little story well told - great voice and unfussy recording. I would vote for this if I didn't vote for my
nephew.
Tex's Nephew: (me - with my nephews lyrics) - a last minute rush job - I'm am planning on telling my nephew that putting "..she kicked me in the balls" in a song doesn't automatically make it funny. aaaah..to be 13 again...
I'm voting for my nephew - but the Be-Wells, Otalgia or Evil-E probably deserve to win
Ben Krieger
this is cool. sounds great! almost reminds me of beck for some reason. it probably shouldn't though. good job!
Bewells
this is nice. everything sounds perfect. not really for me, but I enjoyed it.
electromartyr
I don't like your vocals at all. but I don't like mine either, so I'm not one to talk! ha. ummm.... other than that. there's some interesting pops and whistles going on.
evillee
this is pretty cool, there's something about it I really don't care for though. not sure what.
Hostess Mostess
I really, REALLY like this. that's nice when it goes to two guitars left and right. I'm not too sure about something in the piano part. needs a kick ass solo.
Jacob lynn
hmmmm.... this is ok. not really my thing.
King Arthur
guitar sounds nice. this is alright. it's really kind of boring me though.
MacPaulDenyer
this is interesting. umm..... yep. I guess this is good.
Otalgiga
did someone bring the rock? I think they did. nice. I would have appreciated some blast beats, but thats ok. solo is pretty cool. I think I was expecting a little too much. but this is still probably one of the coolest things i've ever heard on here. ever listen to pig destroyer?
el Paco of Stinko
starts off cool. haha! what are you doing? ok. RAWK. I like this. kinda creepy. good job!
PoopPaperOrchestra
this is fun. I think you could have done better. I like all the squeeks 'n crap.
Pumpkin Buzzard
you're awesome. this is freakin' sweet!!! I might even save this one. excellent.
Crap Poizon
uh oh! I made a bunch of crap here! I thought it was pretty cool though. I should have spent more time on lyics and vocals. it's just the drum machine programming took 4 days or so. perhaps I should fix that. I have the option!
sidewalkers
this is amazing! I think I should vote for you. well, you'll win anyway, I'll make sure good ol' RattPoizon gets at least one vote!
smalltown milk
those drums sound GREAT! this is pretty cool. I liked it. lots of delay, huh?
uncleTEX
this is fun. I kinda like this. it's making me grin. lyrics are genius! I love it. you should have got some funky slap bass in there somewhere.
"a guitar-induced brain hemorrhage" -The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Conratulations to Hostess Mostess on a deserved win for a great song! Thanks to my 2 voters, it was 2 more votes than I expected! Thanks, also for all the reviews and comments, they are all appreciated. That goes for the gang rape one too. Also, to Caravan Ray: if we ever meet, I will give you a humongeous bear hug....in a brotherly way, of course! Peace and love, Paco.
Given the reviews, I didn't see that coming. For the curious about the "wanky rhythms" (thanks, Caravan):
1) it's 9/8 (divided 2-3-2-2), though I'd probably write it as 9/16 'cause it feels too fast for /8ness.
2) I was playing it that way naturally and actually spent time trying to covert it to 4/4 because I couldn't figure out whether the intervening part (the "Hit by a train" line) was true to the meter, but didn't have enough time to pracice until it felt smooth. A "ah, screw it" decision.
3) The bridge was supposed to maintain that meter but it didn't, and it sounded awful so I turned it all way down and recorded the piano/voice thing on top of it.
4) Though I generally admire odd time signatures, I only feel 7-based ones with any sort of groove. I've written two 7-based songs for SongFight! (Fell Out of the Sky, and We Are Perfect in Our Dreams); neither did very well.
5) We are now thinking we should do everything in 9s.
Thanks for the votes! We're updating our CV. But moreso, thanks for the reviews. We are tuning our style.
"We don’t write songs about our own largely dull lives. We mostly rely on the time-tested gimmick of making shit up."
-John Linnell
