Sir Dread, the Terror Knight (night terrors reviews)

MC Eric B · Post by **MC Eric B** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:56 am

Acid Cadillac : The vocals on the verses were very very faint and hard to understand. The chorus was fine, but the backing music part of the song was boring/repetitive other than the guitar solo which I liked.

Adam Adamant : I liked it. The fast vocals keep it from getting boring.

Bax : Great drums. Everything sounds faint though. Overall a good song.

Big Crouton : I love the intro. The background harmonizing is a great touch. It would sound better if your vocals could be mixed better into the music, especially on the chorus, but I have no idea how to do that. Overall a very creative and well done song. Sounds like an epic song from some famous metal band, which is a great accomplishment for writing a song in 1 week.

Carpetburn : The music and the singing are all done very well, but nothing about the song grabs me into it. Still a very good song though.

Dynamic Rhythm Device : I like the creepy feel of the song, and I like the vocals (even the whispering). It just needs a better chorus to make it more interesting, to contrast with the slow moving verses.

Iron(y) Man : Why is this ironic? Why is this even considered a song? Big thumbs down from me.

Jeff Travis Henderson : I like the backup vocals. Catchy tune, and good vocals. Why so short a song though? I wish it did not end so abruptly.

Jimmy Jet and his TV Set : Good song.

Klownhole : It seems like this would havebeen a good opportunity for you to make something scary, but this was no scarier than your usual. A good song though, with great drumming.

Lockheed Symphony : A good attempt, but I found the music somewhat annoying. The lyrics are funny though.

Lopez and the Destroyers : Catchy background music, and somewhat goofy. I liked it.

Lord of Oats : Has a good scary/Halloween feel to it, like something that would play at the end of horror movie. I think it would have been best to make this into 2 different songs though, since the second part is not that scary.

Max the Cat : The intro sets the scary mood very well, but that part could have been shorter. 2nd part is a mixture of Queen, a Broadway show, and a cartoon parody horror clip, which is creative at least, although not scary anymore.

Mexican Chimpanzees : I found it boring until it got to the music part, which I surprisingly liked,but then that part was over in a flash.

Mime : Vocals were hard to understand, which is not surprising since as a mime you don't talk much. The vocals have a good "madman" feel to them, but the music is boring and since most of the time I have no idea what you are saying, it gets boring. Also, it needs a more distinctive chorus.

No Horse Town : I like how the timing of the beat is different and complex, and your vocals are good. But, it needs some insturments to make it more melodic. The truckload of instruments you have come in around 1:15 keepthings moving along well, but are not particulary catchy or harmonious. Also, I think the ending could have been better.

Older Brothers : The music is catchy but you ruined it by having the backwards vocals, which caused me to lose interest before you got to the better parts of the song. I liked the backwards vocals at the very end better.

Rone Rivendale : Odd and freaky, which is good for Halloween. It sounds like you are reading the lyrics from a piece of paper though, but maybe that is intentional. This makes it less scasry though. The "mommy" part had more emotion so I liked that.

Ross Durand : Your voice is a good fit for singing a haunting/scary type song, so you did well with this one.
After hearing the start of the song, I thought it would be a little boring, but your soaring vocals on the chorus were great and kept it interesting.

Sockpuppet : Not scary at all, but cool in a geeky kind of way.

Steve Durand : A good Monster Mash type clone. Would be a great song for a Broadway horror musical, like Little Shop of Horrors or Rocky Horror. Very professional sounding.

Suburban Bear Quadrant : A fun song, with a lot going on to keep it interesting, but should have ended at around 2 minutes.

Thanks for the Frisbee : I liked the vocals and tune, but I thought the music was a little boring (maybe it should have been shorter). Overall a good song though.

The Weakest Suit : A solid song, but nothing about it stands out. Maybe if it were recorded better, and with more instruments it would be better. Not bad though.

The White Hat : Has a good blues feel to it, but nothing about it thrills me. Still a very good song though, and I like the lyrics.

Big Crouton gets my vote this week.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:08 am

I probably should have spent more time equalizing mine. Oops. I guess my monitors are way bass-heavier than I thought.

I'll get around to reviewing eventually but let me just say that my favorites so far are Jeff Henderson and Ross Durand, and mine sounds awkward and herky-jerky on purpose because it's about the brain getting out of sync with itself and so on.

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:50 pm

"It sounds like you are reading the lyrics from a piece of paper though, but maybe that is intentional."

Well, you have heard of "Roneing" right? *winks* It's kinda my style.

I've done one run-thru of the songs so far and I was very suprised that no body went for the cheap "AHHHHHH!!!!" scare tactic. Good job on that. No frontrunners yet, i'll have to give everyone another listen first.

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:09 pm

Acid Cadlilac -- The chorus is really good but the verses are too soft and hard to understand. Chorus B, the rest a D. Overall C-
Adam Adamant -- You sing just a little too quickly. I like the accent =P I'll say B-
Bax -- I like the musical half of this, not feeling the lyrics as much. Also the end drags on forever and a day. Solid C
Big Crouton -- The opening insturmental is awesome. The lyrics are equally great. I'd fully expect this to be playing on one of those action movies starring Stallone or Arnold. A-
Carpetburn -- Pretty solid stuff. I think like Bax the ending dragged on too long though. C
Dynamic Rythum Device -- A little slow for me. I respect what you were going for though with the spookness and all. D
Irony Man: What... the... Fu.... F
Jeff Travis Henderson -- Very short. Good for what it was worth. I can't give high marks to someone who only attempted a 1 minute song though. C
Jimmy Jet and His TV Set -- Not sure what to say. It was good, but nothing that memorable. B-
Kornhole -- And here we come to a band who is ALWAYS memorable, for better or worse. You guys certainly know what you like and you stick to it. C
Lockheedsymphony -- Bad yelling, loud annoying music. Funny as hell lyrics. B-
Lopez and the Destroyers -- No Sir, I don't like it. The distortion in the vocals missed the mark and the music isn't that catchy. Better than Irony Man though. D-
Lord of Oats -- Pretty scary. I like the vocals alot. I don't understand the silence in the middle at all. The 1st run through I did of this I thought the song was corrupted and skipped ahead only to have to skip back to where I was to listen to the rest heh. C

Second half of songs reviewed tomorrow

Post by **Lunkhead** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:45 pm

Big Crouton, you are treading the line between homage and cover song. Nice shredding, though.

A Bootleg · Post by **A Bootleg** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 1:39 pm

Acid Cadillac - I like the sound of your guitar. I really hate the compression/phasing you've got going there on the vox. Enough to not be able to listen to the rest of the song. Ah, cool. You got rid of it. Oh, here it comes again.

Adam Adamant - Ah, that good old fat distorted bass. Reminds me of Monster Mash but in a good way. Maybe compress/eq the vox a bit more towards the high end.

Bax - The song rocks appropriately, but the levels sound all off.

Big Crouton - BEGIN STAGE 1 - FIGHT! 30 seconds in, no vox? Whatever, th guitar riff is damn cool. Oh this is too good. Those lyrics are sopping wet.

Carpetburn - I have a soft spot for songs in 5. Pull that prechorus together, man! This is pleasant. First song I think I'll get all the way through. Oh yeah good bridge with intelligent solo. Only criticism I have is to keep your lyrics metric and conversational. I hear a lot of crammed-in syllables. Possible vote.

Dynamic Rhythm Device - Too much fingernail. Trim 'em down a bit. Very Elliott Smith in its intimacy. This is good. Light accompaniment. Keeps me interested. Somewhere, tom waits is looking on with half-interest. I am listening on with full interest. Possible vote.

Iron(y) Man - Lame.

Jeff Travis Henderson - Yes. Good. Lyrics all fit in more or less, and it's conversational. Would have liked a bridge and another verse, but this is ok as it is. Possible vote.

Jimmy Jet et TV Set - Decent for G&G. Oh please add something to it. Oh well.

Klownhole - Well produced. Very well produced, as is to be expected from KH.

Lockheed Symphony - This song was an epic battle between hating the music and loving the lyrics. Ultimately the lyrics won out, but just barely.

Lopez, Destroyers - Ah, the pipe organ. If there's a more quintisentially halloween instrument, I haven't heard of it. The maracas don't hold a candle to this. "Well, let's have a dance party." Well said.

Lord of Oats - I like the intro. As long as it is, it's stil cool. Oh, now it sounds like Korn. And it ends like a minimalist disco. Interesting.

Max the Cat - Odd. I like.

MC Eric B - Ah christ now I have to promote your music. Double that tempo and you've got something. The lyrics are decent, but it needs to be faster.

Mexican Chimpanzees - Intro was way too long. I like the ominous piano boogey, though.

Mime - I'm sorry. If like five guys before you hadn't done the exact same thing, I'd be more supportive. However, by virtue of the first letter of your stage name, I'm going to fast forward through the rest of your long, spoken word "song."

No Horse Town - Remember Real Ultimate Power? The one with the ninjas? Yeah, that was good. Reminiscent of Big Crouton.

Older Brothers - Cool backwards vocals. Please don't do this for the whole song. Thanks. Listenable. Nice. Fine. Drum machine should be sent to the back of the classroom. Dig the guitars.

Rone Rivendale - See Mime's review above.

Ross Durand - A welcome break. Good pickin'. Good progression. Gets progressively more interesting as the song progresses. Great dynamics. This is what a G&G song should sound like. Possible vote.

Sock Puppet - Tune that uke! You get a free pass for using a uke for this one song, but next time, I expect it to be tuned. I like songs about science. Quit cramming syllables in where they don't belong! Otherwise, excellent. Hilarious. Edu-tainment.

Steve Durand - Another monster mash song. Better than the last one. Ah sweet horns. So sweet. AH SO SWEET.

Suburban Bear Quadrant - Balalaika? What's that instrument? Oh, I'm not listening to this for five mintues. Sorry.

Thanks for the Frisbee - Ah, another good sounding entry from another good sounding act. Welcome reprieve. Ditch the doubled vocals and get some harmonies. Is this a holocaust song?

Weakest Suit - Digging the lo-fi recording. Solid song, but there's really not much more to say than that.

The White Hat - I should get off this religious kick. Maybe take a singing lesson or two. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with this song. Whoever said that the song was repetetive is right, and just because it's the blues doesn't make that an excuse. I got a little lazy in the composition of this one. I promise more interesting stuff next time.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:00 pm

My uke cost $10 and has shit for intonation.

rone rivendale · Post by **rone rivendale** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:36 pm

The White Hat wrote: Mime - I'm sorry. If like five guys before you hadn't done the exact same thing, I'd be more supportive. However, by virtue of the first letter of your stage name, I'm going to fast forward through the rest of your long, spoken word "song."

Rone Rivendale - See Mime's review above.

If you didn't listen to my song, don't review it. Just leave my name out. In fact don't review anyone's songs at all. You obviously don't give a shit about SF enough to do them properly. Thanks.

Billy's Little Trip · Post by **Billy's Little Trip** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:31 pm

Rone Rivendale wrote:
The White Hat wrote: Mime - I'm sorry. If like five guys before you hadn't done the exact same thing, I'd be more supportive. However, by virtue of the first letter of your stage name, I'm going to fast forward through the rest of your long, spoken word "song."

Rone Rivendale - See Mime's review above.
If you didn't listen to my song, don't review it. Just leave my name out. In fact don't review anyone's songs at all. You obviously don't give a shit about SF enough to do them properly. Thanks.

*hands Rone his pill and a glass of water*

No Horse Town · Post by **No Horse Town** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:54 pm

Rone Rivendale wrote:
The White Hat wrote: Mime - I'm sorry. If like five guys before you hadn't done the exact same thing, I'd be more supportive. However, by virtue of the first letter of your stage name, I'm going to fast forward through the rest of your long, spoken word "song."

Rone Rivendale - See Mime's review above.
If you didn't listen to my song, don't review it. Just leave my name out. In fact don't review anyone's songs at all. You obviously don't give a shit about SF enough to do them properly. Thanks.

I know, you guys totally have different first letters for your stage names! I guess I don't understand the criteria. What does "M" signify? Is it the same thing as "R"? While we're at it, what's G&G? Guy and Guitar? Ghouls and Ghosts? Gungeons and Gorgons? Shit, I feel so unsophisticated!

Don't worry man, your spoken word song actually had some good music. Humongazoid, if I'm not mistaken.

For the sake of ranting a bit (not directed at anybody in particular), I thought I might try to give some unwelcome advice lyric-wise to whomever: Most of the stuff I've heard around here (not just Night Terrors) sounds very much like the lyrics were written before / separate from the music, which tends to result in either crammed syllables (like Mr. Hat was saying), or weird syllable emphasis (which bugs me the most), or spoken wordiness (nothin' wrong with that if it's done right). I almost always write the music first, then just kinda sing wordless vocal melodies until I have something I like, then scour my brain for words to fit. My SongFight contributions might not be the best examples because so far they've been short songs and kinda lyrically sparse, but in general I end up getting really good lyrics with this method, usually with plenty of nice internal rhyme. I remember watching that Metallica documentary "Some Kinda Monster" and there's this whole bit where Kirk Hammett has written this cheesy song with these lyrics that he really likes (something about "my life cycle determines my death cycle" and samsara and all that crap - bleaahhh) and then they're trying to fit it to the music and it just sounds like crap. There's tons of words out there, and none of them are so profoundly important that they can't be sacrificed a bit in order to actually fit the song. Yeah, Metallica screws it up too, so I'm sure for most people it's good enough, but not for me. And I'm a really cool guy, don't you wanna do what I say? Of course you don't.

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:43 pm

No Horse Town wrote: I thought I might try to give some unwelcome advice lyric-wise to whomever: blah, blah,blah.

Having listened to your Songfight! entries so far, I would suggest that your lecturing others on how to write songs will probably be ignored until you actually demonstrate the vaunted songwriting skills of which you boast.

So far, you have failed to do so.

Steve

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:47 pm

Oh, snap!

Thanks For The Frisbee · Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:18 pm

sdurand wrote:
No Horse Town wrote: I thought I might try to give some unwelcome advice lyric-wise to whomever: blah, blah,blah.
Having listened to your Songfight! entries so far, I would suggest that your lecturing others on how to write songs will probably be ignored until you actually demonstrate the vaunted songwriting skills of which you boast.

So far, you have failed to do so.

Steve

oh no he di-int, oh yes he did

No Horse Town · Post by **No Horse Town** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:53 pm

sdurand wrote:
No Horse Town wrote: I thought I might try to give some unwelcome advice lyric-wise to whomever: blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Having listened to your Songfight! entries so far, I would suggest that your lecturing others on how to write songs will probably be ignored until you actually demonstrate the vaunted songwriting skills of which you boast.

So far, you have failed to do so.

Steve

All in good time, Steve. And I was only talking about lyrics. And did I really say I expected my advice not to be ignored? To be welcome?

You've found a nice little comfy hole to blow your horn, I know, and god forbid some little shit like me might challenge your cushy mediocrity. It wasn't aimed at you, buddy, but it must've hit close to home. Don't be hurt, Steve - just do the mash!

Lord of Oats · Post by **Lord of Oats** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 3:55 am

No Horse Town wrote:talking shit to Steve Durand, including, "nice little comfy hole to blow your horn," "your cushy mediocrity," "it must've hit close to home."

You back the fuck up off of Steve! Don't disrespect a veteran songfighter like that in front of me! Steve is one of the finest songwriters and performers this side of Melvin, and the only fellow I've given consideration to voting for in every single fight he's been in since I've been here. He can play instruments that most of us can't, and is one of the finest lyricists around here, or anywhere. When he speaks, he says things worth listening to. If you don't treat people with respect, no one is going to listen to what you have to say. Learn when to talk, and when to shut your cake hole. (hint: When you're wearing your douche hat, it's probably not a good time to talk.) Seriously, take your conduct back to the elementary school playground. You'll be perfectly welcome here if you approach topics and people with some maturity and respect.

max the cat · Post by **max the cat** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:15 am

Boys Boys.. Actually NHT, whether a good songwriter or bad had an interesting point of discussion. His method of songwriting is pretty much what Paul Simon does and it does make for some fresh and interesting, quite often delicious abstract lyrics. However, many great songs have been written to existing poems and lyrics. It’s all in the skill of the songwriter to make whatever process seamless.. I wrote two albums with a composer who gave me finished melodies etched in stone. At the time he had more clout than I did so I spent hours, days trying to fit syllables and rhymes to his very good, I might add, melodies. It would have been nice to have had a little wiggle room for those perfect words with one extra syllable. I think for chop building it’s good to try all kinds of ways of writing. I found that the pony in the horse-shit method can be quite rewarding. I find a line that intrigues me and put it to a melody and then try to figure out what the hell I’m trying to say. I say lets learn from each other not lean on each other. I would like to bitch about how we are often seduced by production and forget to examine each song on its writing merit. Maybe an unplugged songfight?

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 8:23 am

No Horse Town wrote:some unwelcome advice.

Good instincts.

I don't think it so much what Horsey says here as how he says it. I am certain that my brother enjoys a good discussion about songwriting methods. But the fact that it is presented as "advice" is, first of all, a little condescending. The fact that he claims to be able to tell by listening what technique was used to compose a song seems a bit puffed up. And the implication that there is a right and wrong way to compose a song (his way being better) is artistically void.

That being said - it's nice to have you back Cat, and I totally agree that a disproportionate number of reviews seem to be on polish (production/performance) rather than content. BTW Holland-Dozier-and-Holland also wrote this way, with the music first. But I'm sure we could find a great many who do not who wrote great songs. I, for one, mix it up a bit.

Should this be in the Monkey business forum?

Rabid Garfunkel · Post by **Rabid Garfunkel** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:33 am

max the cat wrote:Maybe an unplugged songfight?

G&G Apocalypse! (shudder)

Welcome back, Max!

Rather, a singing/lyricizing sidefight to a pre-existing backing track and/or a musicifying sidefight to a pre-existing vocal track.

/g&g prejudice

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:06 am

Lord of Oats wrote:
No Horse Town wrote:talking shit to Steve Durand, including, "nice little comfy hole to blow your horn," "your cushy mediocrity," "it must've hit close to home."
You back the fuck up off of Steve! Don't disrespect a veteran songfighter like that in front of me! Steve is one of the finest songwriters and performers this side of Melvin, and the only fellow I've given consideration to voting for in every single fight he's been in since I've been here. He can play instruments that most of us can't, and is one of the finest lyricists around here, or anywhere. When he speaks, he says things worth listening to. If you don't treat people with respect, no one is going to listen to what you have to say. Learn when to talk, and when to shut your cake hole. (hint: When you're wearing your douche hat, it's probably not a good time to talk.) Seriously, take your conduct back to the elementary school playground. You'll be perfectly welcome here if you approach topics and people with some maturity and respect.

Wow, Steve specifically insults NHT's songwriting ability and you're telling NHT he needs to treat people with respect? If, after I said that it sounded like most people here wrote their lyrics first, someone attacked me personally instead of correcting me or engaging me in a discussion, you'd be damn sure I made sure to tell them to bite me. That's all he did. Take your whiny overdefensiveness and put it back on the shelf until the next time you need it, which should be in 5 minutes.

You are the last person who should be advising people here when they need to be quiet.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:27 am

This whole thread is shit. Can we get a do-over?

No Horse Town · Post by **No Horse Town** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:49 am

interesting stuff when you look at how this all came up. It was through White Hat's (non)review of Rone Rivendale. I jumped in for a few reasons:
1. to tell R.R., essentially, that his music was good anyway
2. to joke around
3. to ask what G&G is

then I thought of:
4. well I've been wanting to mention this anyway, so... (shit hits fan)

And the shit wasn't half as stinky as Steve thought it was. But he threw his two cents in and misrepresented what I said. Yeah, I was probably too condescending, but I didn't boast of any vaunted skills: I said IN GENERAL I get good lyrics out of a certain method, and USUALLY good rhymes. And that MOST stuff SOUNDS LIKE it could do with better lyrics: why not give my method a try? Oh well, you prolly won't. (Sure, I was more sarcastic than that, I know. That's how I roll.)

Absolutes are more your specialty, Lord of Oats. "Steve is one of the finest songwriters this side of Melvin" "one of the finest lyricists around here, or anywhere" - insular, much? Comfy / cushy? There's a big ol' world of music out there, Lord of Oats, and all I did was claim some snarky opinions on it, but it appears that you're saying SongFight! is the best of the best of the best. Interesting. He was more condescending to me than I was to no one in particular. And then we got two little jeers at the new guy: "ooh, look, a VETERAN put him in his place!" So I fought back. What, I don't have a right? Oh yeah, seniority and shit. Oops.

Anyway, he attacked me first, and I don't think that being able to play a lot of instruments makes the resulting music inherently better or less mediocre. But when "(Steve) speaks, he says things worth listening to" - well, by now the veteran would have learned to take off his "douche hat" or "shut his cake hole", huh? Because I wasn't claiming what he claimed I was claiming. And isn't "Oh, snap" just a fine example of something worth listening to? "Elementary school playground" fits your statements more than mine, Lord. Let's see, you've got your hero-worship, the impulse to jump on and tease the new kid with the "Oh, snap", your blind notion of seniority = immunity (first graders are stupid! Steve's a big ol' fifth grader so you're just a douchey head!)

Yeah, I shouldn't have been so mean with the hole and the blow your horn and all that. I coulda/shoulda left that out, because it was just escalating the damn thing. So, with full sincerity: I am sorry for the mean shit I said, Steve.

And yeah, I guess this should have been in a different forum, but it just kinda ended up like this. I think my thing about the lyrics is reasonably appropriate for a review thread. But hey, I'm willing to drop it if you guys are.

And I still don't know what G&G means. I'm gonna assume it's guy and guitar.

No Horse Town · Post by **No Horse Town** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:50 am

fluffy wrote:This whole thread is shit. Can we get a do-over?

I'm sorry, man. I swear I'm done.

Sir Dread, the Terror Knight (night terrors reviews)

My Reviews