Nur Ein VII Round Two "The Best Place In Town Is Also The Darkest"

[j$]

I didn't say which bits, or how much of them

[frankie big face]

So is that it for judge reviews? Roy, where's your chart? How can I begin writing the next song without valuable feedback? So far, all I have is j$ and he appears to want even more prog rock!

[j$]

Yeah, Id love everyone in the fight to do a Tull-tastic 19 minute song, please.

Noah did reviews, too.

[frankie big face]

Yeah, Id love everyone in the fight to do a Tull-tastic 19 minute song, please.

Noah did reviews, too.

Yes, I knew that but acknowledging his reviews would have disrupted the aesthetic of my rant.

[roymond]

So is that it for judge reviews? Roy, where's your chart? How can I begin writing the next song without valuable feedback? So far, all I have is j$ and he appears to want even more prog rock!

Apologies, I am fighting some demon chest cold, bronchial monster and have been sort of crossed-eyed the last two days. I'll get my chart up today.

But so that you don't loss a few hours...The megaphone doesn't seem to speak a message that one would broadcast/announce. I'm not a fan of that vocal treatment for such a long stretch.

[frankie big face]

So is that it for judge reviews? Roy, where's your chart? How can I begin writing the next song without valuable feedback? So far, all I have is j$ and he appears to want even more prog rock!

Apologies, I am fighting some demon chest cold, bronchial monster and have been sort of crossed-eyed the last two days. I'll get my chart up today.

But so that you don't loss a few hours...The megaphone doesn't seem to speak a message that one would broadcast/announce. I'm not a fan of that vocal treatment for such a long stretch.

Yeah, I don't think my natural voice fits this song very well which is why I went in that direction. Sometime I want to talk to you about my frustration with Logic's vocal settings. And guitar settings. And bass settings. And mastering settings...

[Niveous]

Sorry, I've been slow on the reviews. Been doing all sorts of other SF/Nur Ein related stuff this week. I'll see if I can finish them up today.

In the meantime, click the button in my sig. That oughta keep you entertained.

[roymond]

My reviews are here

[RangerDenni]

My reviews are here

just to be persnickety, as I am quite low in your ranks ...

I feel that "starts and stops" was a rather open-ended musical directive. it could encompass many things. rest. pause ...one part stopping while another continued. One could argue an elongation of time or a diminishing or ceasing of volume. One could stop their ears up and say that I'm full of BS.....

I feel that my idea was a good one and showed understanding of the point. nonetheless, I feel that my arrangement was slapdash and that I do not sell my feelings on this with any polish here. I am not saying this because I am not confident in my abilities - Manhattan Glutton said it well in his review of me, that if I'd had more time I could have been more convincing. In my opinion, the valid argument I have regarding this topic falls apart in presentation. I'm going to say better luck next time to myself as I am thankful to still be In It; and keep plugging on my own slack reviews.
Thanks for your neat ones. I am enjoying the charts. They are informative and fun.

[glennny]

@Niv

Cool tune! I'm going to guess Niv vocals and lyrics, Roymand soundscape, and maybe Noah rhythm guitar? I don't think I hear any Paco nor J$

@Roymond

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you got it!

[Jefff]

I. Don't. Hear. Many. Creative. Stops. And. Starts.

Here we go.

Oh, come on. You wouldn't want it any other way.

Nope, turns out my first instinct was correct.

[Niveous]

@Niv

Cool tune! I'm going to guess Niv vocals and lyrics, Roymand soundscape, and maybe Noah rhythm guitar? I don't think I hear any Paco nor J$

Close but no cigar. There are tons and tons of J$ on that song.

[roymond]

Here we go.

Oh, come on. You wouldn't want it any other way.

Nope, turns out my first instinct was correct.

Ok, you're being typically opaque. I sense both you and Den are questioning interpretations of the challenge, which is what's fun about such things, I think. It seems Frankie has the spirit when he takes chances, pushes things a little but then doesn't expect everyone to agree. For this round, I had high expectations for "creative" starts and stops. Wreckdom, Frankie, MG, they got it going on. Yours scored so high because it's such a cool song. Den's was a weak entry and I expect her to pull out a better one this week.

[Jefff]

I'm being opaque because I'm reluctant to get into a conversation about the meanings of words like "stop", "start", and "pause". Doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Still, I can't help but express some frustration at being judged (and ranked and sorted) by your arbitrary personal definitions. Whatever, I guess that's part of the game. Consider me a spoil-sport.

[roymond]

I agree that's no fun. I will say that artists who made creative use of such things were ranked higher accordingly. Hardly arbitrary. This kind of challenge is certainly less black and white than the current one.

[Jefff]

Fair enough. At least now we're back to matters of taste, and I will kindly allow you to have the poor variety.

[Jefff]

(That's mostly a joke, by the way.)

[Manhattan Glutton]

Roymond's my favorite judge.
And that's not a joke.

[Jefff]

I was wondering how long it would take you to chime in.

[roymond]

Roymond's my favorite judge.
And that's not a joke.

Talk about arbitrary personal definitions!

[frankie big face]

I agree that's no fun. I will say that artists who made creative use of such things were ranked higher accordingly. Hardly arbitrary. This kind of challenge is certainly less black and white than the current one.

See, this is where I do kind of get aggravated. You say in your write-up that my song was your "favorite" and I clearly fulfilled the challenge in your eyes, yet I get ranked third, presumably because other lesser songs were more creative when it came to the challenge. Which makes me think you put an inordinate amount of emphasis on the challenge. It's not enough to write the best* song and fulfill the challenge. You have to have the best take on the challenge and then also a good song. I think that's backwards.

But I'm not nearly as sensitive about this stuff as Jefff. But then, I'm guessing I'm not nearly as sensitive about most things as Jefff. He's a sensitive guy.

EDIT: *perhaps "favorite" and "best" aren't the same

[roymond]

I agree that's no fun. I will say that artists who made creative use of such things were ranked higher accordingly. Hardly arbitrary. This kind of challenge is certainly less black and white than the current one.

See, this is where I do kind of get aggravated. You say in your write-up that my song was your "favorite" and I clearly fulfilled the challenge in your eyes, yet I get ranked third, presumably because other lesser songs were more creative when it came to the challenge. Which makes me think you put an inordinate amount of emphasis on the challenge. It's not enough to write the best* song and fulfill the challenge. You have to have the best take on the challenge and then also a good song. I think that's backwards.

But I'm not nearly as sensitive about this stuff as Jefff. But then, I'm guessing I'm not nearly as sensitive about most things as Jefff. He's a sensitive guy.

EDIT: *perhaps "favorite" and "best" aren't the same

I can see a formal grading template is needed to satisfy the angry mob. As I was reading this, i was thinking "favorite and best" are not the same, so I was happy to see you realized that. I think my review makes clear that yours is my favorite, warts and all. The other two...not so many warts.

My process is to sort songs into green, yellow and red. I like using MindMaps because I can comment, edit, rearrange, and decorate.
- Green satisfies the challenge while being a really engaging song. In this round, as in last, it also meant satisfied beyond just "technically" satisfied. For the most part, these songs made the challenge a noticeable characteristic in a successful / musical / striking manner.
- yellow was deficient in one or more areas. Could be crappy lyrics, simply satisfied challenge, or a meandering song that doesn't rise above. Yes, very subjective.
- red are my bottom feeders