That Dirty Dancing chick should STFU (Baby, Be Quiet)

[fluffy]

Also, some food for thought: I spend more time tuning my softsynth parameters than you spend tuning a guitar.

I've done plenty of songs the "traditional" way and so it's also not like I haven't "paid my dues" or whatever. I make use of the right instruments for the song in question. It's not laziness, it's an artistic choice. I find it insulting to be dismissed for making an artistic choice that's not in line with what someone thinks "real" music should sound like.

[erik]

Here's what I thought about when I heard these songs:

The Weakest Suit: There's too many syllables in "Baby Be Quiet", especially for how many times you repeat it. This song is okay. The lyrics are weird: they don't seem to be about anything, which is fine, but there's not even anything I want to sing along to. I don't really care for your voice. This song is okay. I would probably like it better if someone else covered it.

Wages: I don't care for that grunge voice. The chorus is too barre chordy. It makes it sound dinky on an acoustic. I bet it would sound much better with a more electric arrangement. Yeah, because that bridge sounds totally generic, but with an electric it would sound kinda cool. This song is okay.

Vegetarian Rage: I don't care for whatever affectation you are using. The song would be funnier if you cut the intro, and instead worked the whole thing into the lyrics. It's mostly already there. It's kind of a one-trick pony, though, it's like "Hey, I'm writing a song about Anne Frank, and how she needs to be quiet". It's like, why do you have to keep telling Anne Frank to be quiet? Is she prone to loudness for some reason? There seems to be some untapped comedy gold in there. This song is okay.

The Worldly Self Assurance: Oh, that intro sucks. This sounds like Melvin writing a Smiths song. Or someone writing a Smiths song. This is pretty good, in the first verse. The chorus needs to be more hooky, and then be followed with some empty, mild-rocking music. As it is, I keep thinking there's going to be some anthemic chorus part, and it never comes. Oh, the second verse your voice is all weird. That instrumental breakdown at the end seems like it's from a different song. This ending is another song, too. Oh, I liked the beginning, but then ultimately ended up not liking the rest of it much.

Thanks for the Frisbee: Oh, this is okay. It sounds like it would work well in a montage scene for an indie film about some sort of unconventional love story where bicycles or trains are involved in some way. This song is the best so far at being what it is. It doesn't really do anything for me, though.

Sockpuppet: I don't think your voice matches well enough with the music. Both the tone of your voice, and the acoustic treatment of it. Too echoey? Not echoey enough? I don't know. This song is pretty cool. Wait, I think your voice might be okay if the song was slower, or something. There's alot going on musically, and that makes me expect to hear a stronger singer. This is another song that sounds like it would be good as part of a movie. Well, everything before 2:55 maybe. It gets a bit harsh there. This song is okay.

Sausage Boy: Oh, I don't like this. It's so repetitive. I'm skipping ahead. Oh, it's the same. I don't care for this at all.

Okay more later.

[Paco Del Stinko]

As I listened to the Sockpuppet song yesterday I was thinking how much I liked it, and wondered how it was made. It's a good tune with some weaker vocal moments perhaps, but how it was made shouldn't matter. I mean, I'd be interested in hearing how any of the songs here were created, but the end result is what matters. Sumptin like that.

[Reist]

Then don't view it as nerdcore. View it as a (rap) song. As I said in my introduction, I refuse to use "nerdcore" as an excuse for shitty music versus good music. The subject matter was Baby, Be Quiet, I wrote and did a song based on the subject, with my own twist. I would like a review on my SONG, not my GENRE.

I'm sorry if I sound like a jerk, but I find it very insulting that you are writing me off because I'm nerdcore. I want to make good music. Not "good for nerdcore music." Be harsh if it's a sucky song. Just say it's a sucky song and not a sucky nerdcore song.

Equal rights![/soap box]

The reason we pit it against nerdcore is because there really is no compare between 'real rap' and what I'm hearing. If you enter a rock song, I'm going to file the song under 'rock' in my top cabinet. If you make 'nerdcore', I'll file it under 'nerdcore' somewhere in my closet.

If you really want criticism, here it is -

Your vocal mix is really weird, in a bad way - for this style, you want crisp lyrics - take off the effect. There's not much depth to the song - make more verses and less chorus.

HONESTLY - there's no more that can be said from me, since I don't understand nerdcore --- you're not going to get more review from me, no matter how whiny you get. Also - stop whining about this stuff. Jeff didn't want to be rude, so he didn't write you a review. You whine, he obliges, and then you offended. It's totally fair for him to write off a nerdcore song - I'm absolutely sick of nerdcore - learn an instrument for pete's sake.

Equal rights? For music I don't enjoy? That's a movement I am sure not to join.

If this sounds harsh - learn from it - work on your production, and don't be rude to people who don't appreciate a poorly represented genre.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I agree Charlie. it's all about creative expression, which is exactly what Fluffy presented.

[g4meboy]

I don't mean to come off whiney, it's just when I put effort into something and try n get help so the song will be better / do what the fightmaster asked, then get nothing out of it seems like a waste of time. I wanted to come here so I could improve my music, but if everyone here hates nerdcore, it feels like all I can do is change my genre or leave the site. It's just kind of surprising that I'm given that ultimatum without even finishing one fight.

[Reist]

I don't mean to come off whiney, it's just when I put effort into something and try n get help so the song will be better / do what the fightmaster asked, then get nothing out of it seems like a waste of time. I wanted to come here so I could improve my music, but if everyone here hates nerdcore, it feels like all I can do is change my genre or leave the site. It's just kind of surprising that I'm given that ultimatum without even finishing one fight.

As has been said several times before - don't give up yet! If I'm not mistaken, there's been basically no reviews yet. Wait it out, then decide once you've heard more opinions.

[fluffy]

Also there are a lot of nerdcore entries here and so people tend to be kind of burnt out by it, especially since there's a general feeling that "nerdcore" is being used too much as an excuse for sucktitude. The original masters of nerdcore actually made their stuff sound good.

Also, how many songs can there really be about some random thing that happened to someone playing a video game? Most of MC Frontalot's songs aren't actually about nerd things, and the ones which are only use the nerdy things as a basis for something else (for example, Yellow Lasers is "about" Star Wars in the same way that A Fish Called Wanda is about a fish called Wanda - it's a justification for certain things happening in a certain way but really it's just a setting).

Also, you can write songs about nerdy things without making it obvious. I have written at least two songs about how my cellphone was pissing me off at the time, and possibly more. CAN ANYONE NAME THEM

[fluffy]

Also I will review these songs eventually, it is just that there are rather a lot of them.

[sausage boy]

What a monster fight! Takes me back to the good 'ol days.

Whose good ol' days are those?

Anything that isn't now I refer to as 'the good 'ol days', but off the top of my head, two, three years ago, huge fights that included the likes of Klownhole, Sonofsupercar, Debuce Triangle, Spinto Band, stuff like that would be when i am refering to. Where my stuff really paled in comparison (not like now...).

[Billy's Little Trip]

I don't mean to come off whiney, it's just when I put effort into something and try n get help so the song will be better

I did help you to clean up what little I had to work with, and many here will be happy to help you improve your craft whether they are into your genre or not. I'm sure that the other nerd rappers here will critique your work with a little more enthusiasm. But don't let the reviews here sway you from your direction. Where would Mr. Front be if he didn't follow his heart no matter what?
Just remember, musicians are going to be your toughest critics, so use that information to strengthen and grow.

By the way, the genre thing goes in both direction. One time MC Front-A-Lot said in a review that my song, and I quote, "sounds like one of those dusty old songs that I find when I'm looking for old stuff to sample, that no one remembers" ...well, I can't remember exactly how he said it, I just added quotes for the dramatic effect. But basically he said my stuff sounded out dated and tired.
....yet I continue happily down this moldy old path, littered with broken dreams of money for nothing and chicks for free.

[No Horse Town]

I'll try to give you some constructive criticism, g4meboy:

As far as I understand, hippity hoppity is s'posedta be rhythm-ey, and sometimes it seems like your lyrics kinda fall off the beat. Though hearing it again now, they line up a little more than I thought on first listen. This problem could be partially because of the weird chopped-up staccato effect with the vocals. It seems like that must've been intentional, maybe it's a nerdcore thing, but I think it would've been better with more fluidity. A lot of the time your statements sound like questions, or the words have strange emphasis which I don't really get. Again, prolly intentional, but I don't think it really works.

Personally, I like my rap music with lots of internal rhyme, which your song doesn't have. But that's just one take on the genre... there's plenty of rappers out there who only do end-rhymes, so it's not really a bad thing overall. Just not my style.

I agree with jolly roger that you should cut back on the chorus.

The backing track is alright, but could use more variety / evolution as the song goes on.

Well, there ya go. I'm super new here, so maybe I shouldn't be criticizing, but you did ask for it. I certainly wouldn't say it's the worst thing I ever heard, and I'm not gonna take off points because it's nerdcore. But I didn't really dig it. You should definitely keep at it, however, and don't be discouraged, especially by people who want to write off a whole genre. I for one would almost always rather listen to something goofy or fun than something serious/depressing, as long as the music holds up.

[Reist]

as long as the music holds up.

That's the key.

[fluffy]

I AM AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HATER, AND MY REVIEWS ARE USELESS

Acid Cadillac - is this Jon Eric in disguise? I guess it's a pretty okay song but not very memorable.

Adam Adamant - Not that I'm one to talk about artificial instruments, but, wow, these sound terrible. Artificial instruments sound best when they're not trying to sound like real instruments, especially when they sound so mechanical, and the instrumental break towards the end was just kind of gah.

Blues manufacturing factory - at least it was short, but it was still about 4x as long as it needed to be

Breast Harvest - at least it was short, but it was still about 4x as long as it needed to be

Cynthia & sp00ns - I'm not quite in the right mood for this song. Normally I'd be totally into it but I have a headache and Cynthia's fakey voice just made it worse.

Deux Freres - Oh, good, people actually know how to make bossa music which doesn't sound like it came from a Casio. The vocals start out pretty weak, though they at least get a bit better. Turning down the vibrato might be a good idea.

DJ Sponge - Oh good, rap that isn't trying to be nerdcore just because it's on the Internet. Unfortunately, it's just a big stream of words to me and my ears glaze over. Good rap tracks still need some variation in the music to be listenable. The backing track finally starts to have some variation at 2:00 but by then my ears have already glazed over, and then the fact it goes from one boring loop to another and then it ends just doesn't win it any favors.

G4meboy - oh good more nerdcore okay I guess you want a review but you don't want a bad review so uh. I like red cherry slurpees. Do you like slurpees? Do you sing into a slurpee cup?

Hell Biscuit - Starts out good, though the levels are a bit low. Then the vocals come in, and its level is too high. Lose the flange or chorus or whatever the hell that is on the voice, get a cleaner recording, maybe try more than one take next time? (I really hope this is your first take.) At least your drum loops match. Not a fan of the lyrics.

Hello Blue Monday - PLOSIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! your poor, poor microphone :(

Jason's Innocence - I was hoping the whole song would be along the lines of the first 10 seconds, but no, instead of an okay abstract noise piece it was just an introduction to a really shitty attempt at G&G + some sort of crappy synth.

Lord of Oats - barely-overlapping multitracked lead vocals bug me. Either double-track it or do it in one take or something. And clippy acoustic guitar makes the baby Jesus cry. It gets a lot better after 2 minutes in or so, but you have some general EQ problems and things are all thuddy and blah. And now my headache's even worse.

No Horse Town - WHAT? I CANT HEAR YOU! TALK LOUUUUDER!!!!!!!!!! christ, when you recorded this did everyone hear it from Four Hills to Rio Rancho? jesus fuck, man.

Punglect - I was really afraid that conventional Drew Tetz-esque vocals would suddenly come in and ruin the minimal electronicness, which I am fond of. Though this is minimal enough that it could use a bit more melody or chord structure or something. It's a fine line to walk. Vocoded vocals get a bit old, song starts to get a bit long, buzzy synth at 1:40 at least sort of saves it, but uh, was this generated aleatorically? It has that mathematical-wank sound to it.

Sausage Boy - something needed to happen on the third roar, but it happened after it instead, which was a nice surprise. I forgot to put salt on my potatoes, and you need to put some salt onto your vocals (for this to make sense, pretend I wrote this after the Pop Quiz Chicken review, because I did). An even trade, I'd say. Clippy cymbals and drums are sucky. Could have been worse I guess. Not something I'd want to play during a party at my place, though.

Wages - This reminds me of why I stopped listening to the radio in the late 90s.

The Weakest Suit - you are collateral damage from having to listen to the rest of the fight. Consider an alphabetically-lower name so that I'm in a better mood when I get to your song.


OKAY I LIED NOT EVERYTHING SUCKS

Big Crouton - Please tell me you were trying to sound like Zappa, because this is exactly the sort of song he'd write. I like Zappa. And I like this song somewhat. Of course the words are secondary to your ripping guitar solos, and that's okay, because that's how Zappa rolled.

Caravan Ray - best song about rape and/or sexual harrassment ever

Jeff Travis Henderson - This song sounds very familiar. Were you on Sharing Machine or something? This sounds like the sort of music that Sharing Machine musicians would do. I want to say I've heard this song before but I can't really place the exact song. Anyway, decent production (though a bit muddy), nice vocal work, good dreamy feel

Jimmy Jet - I don't normally like G&G songs because they either try to be too much or they're very poorly-done, but this one keeps it simple and what it does, it does well. I also like the ambient noise in the background (from your computer or whatever) since it adds a bit of texture to the track. I actually like it better than if it didn't have that.

Lopez and the Destroyers - I had a hard time deciding whether to put this in the first or second section but I guess the second section won out. It's entertaining enough that the production problems aren't that detrimental to it, and it kind of reminds me of the good old days of Song Fight (not the bad old days that Sausage Boy considers the good old days).

Melvin - I am sure you will be in this section although your song has only just started. And yes, it belongs in this section. Nice clean separation of the multiple guitars, good non-overwhelming uses of non-conventional drums, experimental vocals which aren't just annoying, and the same usual good performance we've come to expect from you. Though I notice that my levels are sitting right at peak through the whole song aside from a couple of little dips where it's not quite HEY LET'S BE FULLY LOUD THE WHOLE TIME. I am on a jihad against songs which have no dynamic range. Yours won't be the first against the wall, but my agents have their eyes on it.

Pop Quiz Chicken - like a lower-fi version of sonofsupercar had puppies with Moneyshot. Incidentally right now I am eating dinner which is chicken which I threw together in a pinch which I think is fitting for your name.

Thanks for the Frisbee (you're welcome!) - Another example of the right way to do G&G, this time on the side of doing more than the basics. Double-tracked guitar, double-tracked vocals, everything in concert and harmonious and recorded well. Nice use of panning. Biggest thing I'd recommend is using a better mp3 encoder or better settings or something, because I can hear hella artifacting on the edges of your voice.

veGetar - another track like Frank Zappa, though a different aspect of Zappa than Big Crouton. I don't think he ever made a song about Anne Frank. If he did I hope it sounded as good as this one. Nicely done.

The Worldly Self-Assurance - Even though you came up last in my playlist you were good enough that you didn't become collateral damage. It's like Deshead and Ken's Super Duper Band 'n' Stuff had a party in my mouth, and uh okay wait you sound very very familiar all the sudden. I think my ears aren't worth crap at this point after an hour and a half of listening to stuff. YAY SONG FIGHT AND ITS SILLY ONE-SONG FORMAT.


ALSO I AM NOT ENTIRELY IMPARTIAL

Sockpuppet - I got extremely inspired by the experimental abstract nature of In Rainbows, and decided to put together an ambient melodic piece. The shimmery sound that you hear through most of the track is a short piano loop put through a stereo delay. I put the drums through a bitcrusher (giving it that bleepy-bloop sound) and a tape delay with a very large flutter and LFO, and just experimented with different beats and sounds and stuff to let things happen as they happened. The lyrics were basically just there to treat the voice as an instrument (I don't think I had any meaning in mind, and they're not really title-related, since I was more making an ambient sound sculpture inspired by the title and not a song per se but I did post them in the lyrics thread for anyone who cares... I think they're about my sister or something). As usual I'll probably be <a href="http://sockpuppet.us/raw/">putting the individual tracks up for remixing</a>, if anyone cares. (This time I'll probably do both effected and non-effected.)

Oh and also! In this track I decided to try an experiment by not using any compression at all! There is no compression on any track, and no multiband compression at the end. The only mastering convenience I used was a hard limiter to boost the overall levels a little bit, and I didn't do it so much as to kill the dynamic range. I loved how In Rainbows had dynamic range and I realized how much I missed it.

Basically I'm trying to let the music do its own thing instead of me trying to control it and I like how it turned out.

[big crouton]

Well, I suppose todays as good a day as any for me to listen to these songs and get some reviews out. Here's my thoughts as I listen.

Acid Cadillac:
Nice bass line. Your guitar tone is reminiscent of a junior high kid sitting in his basement. Your midi drums aren't bad except when they try and play fast on the snare. Other than that, good job programming. I really like the solo. Particularly the repetitive lick that hits a new note each time. Now that I think about it, if you had some horns in this, this would sound just like 'The W's'. Good stuff. Seriously, I like the swinging feel, and this could really do with some horns and a upgraded guitar tone.

Adam Adamant+Ron Paul (I assume that's what the rp stands for)
I'm digging the electric piano. Vocals panned to the side always throw me off and really just don't feel right to me. I like the synth that came in somewhere around 50 seconds. I really wish your vocals weren't clipping all over the place. There's really no good reason for it. I don't think I like the 'drums' in this one. To me they just keep it restrained. Whoah! Bridge? Breakdown? Whatever it is, that sure came out of nowhere. On its own it's not bad, but I don't think it really belongs in this song. The drums sound terrible in it too. But what can one do with midi drums?

Big Crouton
Man, you're really blowing me away here. Your guitar playing is on par with such guitar gods as Paul Gilbert and John Petrucci, with more feel than Clapton or B.B. King. Phenomenal. You have the voice of an angel, and your drummer is miles beyond the likes of Mike Portnoy and Gavin Harrison. I can say definitively right now that this is the best song. Not the best song on songfight, or the best song of 2007, but the best song of all time. Past, present, and future unite in crowning you a supreme being. Well done.

Blues Manufacturing Facility
I don't know if this is intentionally amature or not, and I don't know if I like it or not. It's so simple and kind of terrible at the same time. Baby, seriously, I'm trying to sing the blues was a well delivered line. I'm going to go with terrible out of 10 on this one.

Breast Harvest
whoah. Didn't see that coming. I've gotta say, the lyrics are in depth and brilliant. The vocals convey them in a very appealing and relatable way as well. I'm really drawn into the subject matter of this song. This is songwriting at it's finest. The complexity and subtlety of this song really keeps me wanting more.

Caravan Ray
woo, nice drums. They did not lead me to expect they way the vocals came in. I am glad that the snare has now become a regular part of this song, because it sounds good, and you've got a good groove going with this song. I think I like this song. It's a really simple song with enough new elements being introduced to keep it interesting. Heh, I liked that ye-ye-ye-ye-ye-yes at 2:30. I really like the vocal arrangement on this. Good melodies, and I like the way the different layers work together. Kind of quirky, but I dig it.

Cynthia Size and the @eclectic spoons
the instrumentation is bothering me. I like your voice though. 4:00 is going to be pushing it for me to listen to this song the way it's going. I like your ahhs. There's a part of me that kind of likes it, and then the other part of me is just saying Baby, be quiet (ha! See what I did there? I'm so clever sometimes.) Alright, I'm digging this breakdown somewhere around 2:10. A nice break from the song. I'm not experienced in the way of various drugs, but I feel that the combination of your quirky melodies and the trippy windows media player screen is similar to what I would imagine some sort of drug experience to be. Hooray, this is shorter than I was led to believe. 3:00 is better than 4:00 in this case. Not to say your song was bad, because I started to get into it, but I really didn't want to listen to it for another minute.

Deux Freres
Oooh, this is damn smooth. The vocals don't aren't pulled off quite as smooth as the instrumentation, but they're not bad. Your harmonies seem aimless in what I assume is the chorus. I'm all for harmonies, but these ones don't seem to work. Okay, I just heard the chorus again, and perhaps your harmonies do work, just not the last line of them. Well, I didn't see this coming. Cool bridge. The transition to and from it was less than seamless, but I'm not complaining. I liked it, and the trumpet solo was nice. Nice choir in that chorus. I like this one.

DJ Sponge and RyGuy
Good groove. I love the line 'there are so many women I want to demean' and 'I didn't cheat on her, I just had some sex.' I wish the organ would transition between chords more smoothly. It's a bit choppy for my liking. I'm no critic of this style of music, nor do I listen to it, so I don't have a lot to say, but this seemed well pulled off. The vocals actually flowed quite well, and the music was okay. I will call this good, but please don't take my word for it, as my word is rather meaningless in this genre.

g4meboy
You've already lost points from me by using a 4 instead of an A. I know they look rather similar, but seriously, the left-most stick of the 4 does not go all the way to the bottom of the line. Even if it did, the right-most stick of the 4 is vertical, so it still wouldn't look right. It would probably look even more awkward. Furthermore, the rest of the letters in your name are lowercase, and the 4 is clearly imitating an upper-case A, not a lower case one. What's so special about the 'a' that it deserves to stand out so much by being both a capital and a number? I think you need to take a good long look at your life and what direction you see yourself going in before you substitute anymore numbers for letters.

Hell Biscuit
I like that first riff that comes in. Holy vocals Batman! (there I go being clever again.) Seriously though, your vocals are standing out way too much, and not sounding like a part of the song. I like the chorus, but it's not living up to the energy it could have. Part of that could be because the instruments are shoved way back in the background, and the other part is probably midi drums. You could have spiced them up a bit more for the chorus though, just to bring some more energy. Your solos are kind of hit or miss. When they're on, they're quite good, but when they're off, they really overshadow the good parts. Do you know scales? You should learn them if you don't. It takes the guesswork out of playing leads. Ha, nice ending. Well played.

Hello Blue Monday
Your vocals are really off. I always hate saying that, because vocals are such a personal thing, but really, you're only hitting some of the notes. Really though, while your performance of this song is rather lackluster and off, I like the song. As I listen to this, I'm hearing a really awesome arrangement in my head. It starts off all acousticy like yours, but at some point, there's guitar feedback for like one beat, then the full band is in and it sounds huge and powerful, and then Jon Foreman comes in and really sings his heart out for the 'and we're going down, yes we're going down' and then there's a powerfully emotional guitar solo by me, and Andrew is rocking the f*ck out on the drums, and it's seriously awesome. Then it gets all quiet and ends kind of like yours, with guitar feedbacking in the distance, and some ambient sounds. My mental arrangement receives 10 out of 10 points. You get 6/10 points for writing the song and giving me the rights to it so I can record it for the sequel to the theatrical release: Titanic. I'll make millions. Thank you.

Jasons Innocence.
Painful is the first word that comes to mind. With the sort of tuned guitar, the two vocals kind of singing the same thing, the group yelling A Riot! Be Quiet! in the chorus, it's all just kind of terrible. I feel bad about leaving such a bad review, but I really don't like this. By the way, did you record this in your family room with a bunch of people talking in the background? Cause it kind of sounds like that.

Jeff
Well, you have a pretty big advantage over the other songs in that I've probably listened to this song about 20 times since you sent it to me on earlier this week. You also have an advantage over everyone else in that this is such a frickin' awesome song. The only thing I would change is the drum beat occasionally. It works really good in the verses and any of the more down sections, but in the chorus, particularly the last chorus, it just needs to be more powerful. The real instruments can only bring so much power. Your drums need to pick up some of the slack. Lyrically, I still don't know what this is about, but I really like it. Particularly the bridge. I also love what the bass does around the end of the bridge. This song scores Jesus out of 10.

g4meboy
I was going to leave your review at that, but given the controversy already caused in this thread by an 'improper' review, I figure I should actually say something about the song. I didn't like it.

Holy Jeez! I'm only half-way through. There are way too many songs. On the bright side though, I guess I'll get that many more reviews of my song.

Jimmy Jet and His TV Set
I like your voice. I really do. There's not a lot of people I can say that about here, but I think you have a good voice. I would really like to hear a much higher quality recording of this song. I think it works really well as just a guitar and a voice, but it would benefit from a better recording and some smoother guitar playing. Not to say that your guitar playing was bad, because it wasn't, but it could've flowed better in some parts.

Lopez + The Destroyers
haha! I love these lyrics. My first thought was that your vocals sound terrible, but that thought was quickly displaced by laughter. I'm sure these lyrics aren't as good as I think they are, but I really do find them very amusing. The guitar solo was kind of painful until about 1:45, at which point I like the lick you played, but it could've stood less repetitions. I don't like the song, but I love they lyrics/vocals.

Lord of Oats
Your vocals are kind of hit or miss. Your voice isn't bad, it's just not hitting the notes a lot of the times. I have no way of knowing this, but it really does sound like you could do a much better job of hitting the notes. I don't know why I say that, but anyways, that would help you out a lot. I like the la la las. Not a bad solo. Could've been half as long though (the solo, not the song.) Ah, there we go. It's even twice as long as what I thought was twice as long as it should've been (if that sentence makes any sense) but the second half is much better than the second quarter.

Melvin
This sounds really good. I listened to this once before. I really like the guitars in the intro. I don't know how I feel about the high vocals when they first come in though. However, I do like the vocals around 50 seconds. They remind me of weezer, though I don't think they really sound like weezer vocals. They just remind me of them. Now that I think of it, I think you're a 40/60 mix of weezer and Eve 6 in the vocal department. I love that synth. I really like the instrumental. It just feels really good to me. This song is very happy. Not in a cheesy G-C-D-C kind of way, but in a good happy way, if that makes any sense (which I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but the song still makes me happy).

Well, on that happy note, I'm ready for a short break, which I will be taking now. It won't seem to you guys like I'm taking a break, because this post will all show up just as one big hunk of text at the same time, but I'm probably gonna stop for like half an hour, and then I'll continue. I tell you this because this information is vital to your survival.

No Horse Town
I find your vocals annoying, but I think they work with the song (that is not me saying that the song is annoying) The distortion of everything makes it kind of painful to listen to. Perhaps the break I took from listening and writing reviews is responsible for you having such a short review. Sorry about that, but I needed a break, and I just don't have much to say about your song.

Ben Krieger
Good sir, you have a desirable bass tone. Everything is rather distorted though, which is annoying. Maybe it's the distortion, but this song is kind of a mush to me. There's nothing memorable or stand-out to me about it. Sorry. I know you were hesitant about sending this one in, and I can understand it. It just feels underdeveloped and unmemorable.

Punglect
Alright. I'm sort of digging the vibe laid down in this one. 1:10 in, I'm assuming it's an instrumental, and as I wrote that sentence I was proven wrong. But I'm still calling it an instrumental as the vocals are unintelligible and function more as an instrument than as vocals. The synth after the instruvox stands out too much for a song that is so laid back and minimal. I can dig this song, though I'm not taken away with it. I'm sure I'm a jerk to say that it seemed a bit lazy, but I'm saying it anyways, because I'm pretty sure I've said worse things in these reviews. I wouldn't ask you to change the arrangement, but it would've been nice to hear some more sonic atmostphere creation. I think you really could have gone crazy atmospheric with this song, but you left it a bit simple and bland for my liking. Although it doesn't create the kind of atmosphere I'm talking about here, I'd recommend checking out Sockpuppets song for some ideas of how to make a song like this more interesting.

Sausage Boy
With a name like that, I assume you are a superheros sidekick, so I expect great things from you. Alright. I'm digging this so far (45 seconds in). The vocals aren't terrible, but I don't like them. That 'kick' is distorting everything, which almost sounds intentional, but I still don't like it. It's not bad at the level it is when the crash cymbal isn't going too, but during those parts, it's bad news. I'm not liking the instrumental around 2:30. Well, although my assessment from about 2 minutes and 45 seconds ago was that I liked this, as of 3:30 I can definitively say that I don't like this. I kind of enjoy when you sing Be quiet zombies might be able to hear you, but other than that, I do not like. Stick to saving the world alongside whoever's sidekick you are.

Sockpuppet
I'm digging this. I really like the variety in sounds through this. The vocals remind me of really old Porcupine Tree stuff where Steven Wilson was just tripping out on whatever he could get his hands on and writing really whacked out trippy music. The music doesn't remind me of that, but the vocals kind of do. Yeah, I'm really digging this. Much more than I would expect myself to enjoy a song like this. You've got a really simple piano line back there which works really well repeating through the whole song, and you do a good job of putting it into different contexts, and keeping enough variety to make the song well worth listening to all the way through. Really well done. You have surprised me. Seriously, I really like this one.

Thanks for the Frisbee
Musically this reminds me of something I've heard on a Skynyrd B-side type album, though I can't place the song. Once again, I don't seem to have much to say about this song. I like your chorus though. You do a better job of doubling your vocals in the chorus than a lot of people tend to do (I'm looking at you Jeff and Andrew). The verses could've done without doubling though. Really, the whole song could've done without vocal doubling, but it works in the chorus, so I won't hold that against you. Actually, upon hearing single-tracked vocals at the end there, I think you made the right decision in doubling them.

The Worldly Self-Assurance
When your voice started off, I was sure this was Andrew (jolly roger). I have since decided that it is not in fact him, but it just sounds similar to his voice. I like your chorus. Fairly catchy. I could've done without the guitar leads in the right ear. Not necessarily without them entirely, but maybe just quieter or less constant. I think I like this song. I wouldn't call it great, but certainly enjoyable. I really like the bells. Are they real bells, or keyboard? They sound really good. I don't know if I said this yet, but I quite like your chorus. And I've changed my mind on the guitar leads. I think they're fine, at least in the chorus they are.

Vegetarian Rage
Alright. This is a groovy little song. My head bobs along to it involuntarily. The feel of the song seems so very disconnected from the lyrical content. I kind of like that though. I really like the organ in the right ear. Really cool playing on that. Really groovy too. Whooo, solo! Simple, but very effective. Not sure I like your voice, but it's not bad. I really like the harmonies in the chorus, and I feel like they should've been brought out more in the mix. Hooray for whistling! Good stuff. This is a song that the chorus should've kept repeating 2 or 15 more times as it slowly fades out. Good song.

Wages
I listened to this yesterday I think. I don't like this performance, but this is another song that I really love the song. The vocals are kind of hit or miss. Mostly miss in the chorus, and mostly hit in the verses. I love the guitar riff. This is a song that I'm hearing a really huge rather metal arrangement. That riff actually really reminds me of a song from John Petrucci's solo album. Perhaps that's why I'm hearing such a metal arrangement. Yeah, this song would do well with a full band with big fat doubled guitars and rockin' awesome drums. I really like your voice for this though. Reminds me of Puddle of Mud (I only know the one song by them though).

The Weakest Suit
hooray, it's the last song! Man, these reviews have taken a long time. I was worried that this would be another 'just me and my guitar' type songs (not that there's anything wrong with those sorts of songs) Dammit. Why'd you have to go back to the 'just me and my guitar' feel again? I really dig the down low parts. Especially the clean guitar in the right. Seriously, you shouldn't have kept on going back to the 'just me and my guitar' feel. I know midi drums aren't great, but you need something in those choruses. Not a bad song overall though.

g4meboy
here's an actual review, now that I've messed with you twice. Seriously, I don't like it, but it's mostly because the vocals had a very disjointed feel to them. Really, the whole song had a rather disjointed feel to it. Nothing seemed coherent. I think the downfall of this song is just timing. The main loop you have going on doesn't fit rhythmically with the drums or the rest of the song. Perhaps if the music was more rhythmically coherent you would have had an easier time rapping on tempo. I think you've got some good loops going on, but you just need to put them together in a way that works rhythmically.

[erik]

Okay more later.

Punglect: This needs more change. This is very very very very very repetitive. There's a farty synth. Oh, I don't like this at all.

Ben Krieger: Oh fuck yes. Gawd yes. Thank you. This reminds me lightly of GBV, but in a "you understand pop music" way, not in a "quit ripping people off" way. Oh wow, I love the backing vocals. I really like what this song is about. Very vague, very cool. "My atonement"... nice. The song ends unnecessarily early, even though it makes sense from a lyrical standpoint. I could have heard that chorus at least another time. This song is really great, and I hope you send in more songs to songfight.

No Horse Town: Ohyeaaaaaaaah. This reminds me alot of Pataphysics, who are my favorite local band. They are insane. I want to drive around town and play this song on the CD player, and sing along loudly, especially the part that's all "This isn't Idi Amin, yeah I was down on the scene in 1973". That's some hooky-ass shit there. Oh, it's over. Hell, that was sweet. More songs please.

Melvin: The high quiet vocals seem like a weird start to the song. What are they doing there? I thought the song could have ended at like 2:11 and I wouldn't have thought any worse of it. There aren't any new elements being introduced, except for that "All Too Much" breakdown. This is pretty.

Lord of Oats: Oh, start with a better line than that. It's so weinery. "lying in the mud/ every one's a dud"... save lines like that for like the second verse, or never. "love her more than my art/have to listen to my heart"... oh, get that line out of the chorus. It's too weird. The message of the song seems to be "Someday I will find a woman who loves me for unknown reasons not listed in the song, but she won't like my music or the recording of music in general. And I will think that's okay." I don't want to sing along to a song about that. This song isn't doing anything for me.

Lopez and the Destroyers: Hmmmm, you almost had me with the first line, but then you... wait, is there more than one singer? Whoever sings the first line of each section is pretty good. Whoever comes in next is just being random for random's sake, and making funny voices. Okay, maybe it's just one guy. If the whole song was like the first line of each section, it would be pretty cool. Oh, the bridge is bad. Overall, I don't like this song.

Jimmy Jet and His TV Set: This is pretty. I want there to be some sort of awesome lyric or something, because while the guitar playing is very nice, the arrangement is sparse and that makes me listen to the words. It doesn't seem to be about much at all, and it leaves me kind of cold. Did someone die at the end of the song? That would be a cool twist. This song is okay, but I'm not that into it.

[erik]

all of a sudden I really wish I knew how to delete posts I've made.

Sorry about that folks, but hey, that's three times as many reviews. Just read each duplicate post as though it was from a different person. You'll be amazed at how similar different peoples thoughts are on your song.

You can edit posts, and replace two of the duplicates with a period or something.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Maybe you should go back and add or change a lil sumpin sumpin to each review so they have to read them all, lol.
Actually, I think you just wanted to make sure that great "Big Crouton" review gets hit on Google searches.

[big crouton]

all of a sudden I really wish I knew how to delete posts I've made.

Sorry about that folks, but hey, that's three times as many reviews. Just read each duplicate post as though it was from a different person. You'll be amazed at how similar different peoples thoughts are on your song.

You can edit posts, and replace two of the duplicates with a period or something.

you=smarter than I.

edit: although I stand by what I said in this post, I'm going with BLT's idea. Hey, you're named after a sandwhich. Congratulations.!

[fluffy]

Ben Krieger: Oh fuck yes. Gawd yes. Thank you. This reminds me lightly of GBV, but in a "you understand pop music" way, not in a "quit ripping people off" way. Oh wow, I love the backing vocals. I really like what this song is about. Very vague, very cool. "My atonement"... nice. The song ends unnecessarily early, even though it makes sense from a lyrical standpoint. I could have heard that chorus at least another time. This song is really great, and I hope you send in more songs to songfight.

Did I miss this one or is that a forum name for someone who submits under a different name? I mean I know that's the dude with the bee avatar (and bees are awesome) but I have no idea which song you're talking about here.

[Billy's Little Trip]

all of a sudden I really wish I knew how to delete posts I've made.

Sorry about that folks, but hey, that's three times as many reviews. Just read each duplicate post as though it was from a different person. You'll be amazed at how similar different peoples thoughts are on your song.

You can edit posts, and replace two of the duplicates with a period or something.

you=smarter than I.

edit: although I stand by what I said in this post, I'm going with BLT's idea. Hey, you're named after a sandwhich. Congratulations.!

I'm a fan of the sang'which

[No Horse Town]

No Horse Town - WHAT? I CANT HEAR YOU! TALK LOUUUUDER!!!!!!!!!! christ, when you recorded this did everyone hear it from Four Hills to Rio Rancho? jesus fuck, man.

Is it that you think the vocals are too loud in comparison to the music? Or just everything too loud in general? Sorry if you don't have volume control where you're at. Anyway, thanks for personalizing the review with the ABQ references, but no... it didn't quite make it to Rio Rancho. Maybe next time if I'm lucky.