This round was a study in opposites. For some, it was really easy to drop the hammer. For others... ranking was finely sliced. Higher ranking went to those who more fully and integrated the round structure into the song and/or succeeded at doing something really novel with it.
Review in reverse alphabetical order for arbitrary variety:
The Worldly Self Assurance
+++ kicks off with a round; i'm surprised more people didn't try this +++
--- verse prosody is awkward, especially in contrast to the sing-songy round ---
+++ chorus +++
WreckdoM
/// i feel dizzy; cut out that ping-pong effect ///
+++ channeling the rock delirium of Butthole Surfers +++
The Idiot Kings
+++ opening lyrics +++
/// but the prosody would be better: "i am an architect / my heart is made of steel / i am an architect / my drive is all i feel" ///
/// catchy melody, but it seems overly facile, even familiar ///
--- that round is pretty buried, way down in the chorus/outro ---
Snappy + Floyd
--- 9:53?! this had better be epic and your intro is not promising ---
--- self-reference fail ---
--- while critiquing the status quo is a worthwhile endeavor, doing so blindly is no kind of courage, much less art ---
--- you notice how many times you have to say "what i'm trying to say is..."? just say it already ---
Sausage
+++ groove +++
--- ho hum thinly-veiled sexual innuendos ---
/// this falls into the "critique via point of view" mode of satire, which is really dangerous (check out Stone Temple Pilot's "Sex Type Thing") ///
+++ noisy bridge that teeters on the edge of too much without going over +++
+++ ending : nice narrative turn around +++
Ross Durand
+++ rockin' country vibe +++
+++ both a description of a real place and a fully-functional metaphor in its own right +++
/// that guitar-tapping percussion is a little distracting; either too complex or too hot ///
+++ round and round and round and round +++
Rabid Garfunkel
--- prosody ---
--- derivative melodies whose citation add nothing to the composition ---
Oystercatcher
+++ pretty +++
+++ lyrics +++
--- underdeveloped ---
Merisan
+++ pretty; nice minimalist instrumentation that gives this room to breathe +++
+++ interesting melancholy +++
--- the round is nicely complex - too much so, especially in comparison to the rest of the sparse composition ---
Manhattan Glutton
+++ round in the background? brilliant! +++
+++ LEFT TURN +++
/// i suspect this is slyly self-referential, but it's very well done ///
+++ nice mini-round there at the end +++
Ligers With Attitude
--- self-referential fail ---
--- scatalogical denigration ---
Jon Eric
+++ LEFT TURN! +++
/// the melody reminds me of a drinking song you wrote last year ///
+++ unconventional instrumentation +++
/// vocals are a little buried ///
/// only a very simple round, but appropriate to the genre ///
Jo Ann Abbott
--- vocal harmonies ---
Gooey Caramel Centaur
+++ great extended metaphor of the lyrics +++
/// good, solid, but not outstanding ///
/// round is present, but doesn't add much ///
Genevieve Johnson/Jones and the Chiefs
+++ straight up channeling
Coil +++
+++ i was about to down-grade this as too self-referential - then I remembered the last time I was in a round-about in a downtown setting: this captures that experience perfectly +++
/// plays somewhat loose with the idea of a "Round" ///
Frankie Big Face
+++ ORGAN ! +++
+++ EVERYBODY SING ALONG +++
/// channels everything that's great about 60/70's motown ///
/// wait... Frère Jacques? Gagné! +++
--- sung round is minimally present; doesn't add much to the composition as a while ---
DJ Ranger Den
+++... Janis? +++
/// have you seen
The Triplets of Belleville? ///
--- too much reverb; use panning instead to differentiate voices ---
+++ dayum: fantastic amount of daring (all vocals) fantastically executed +++
--- it gets a little messy in the second verse; then tightens up again ///
Chris Cogott
+++ pretty guitar work +++
+++ very pretty vocal harmonies +++
/// nitpick: an architect is not a structural engineer, whose (lack of a) job your metaphor is ... uh... built upon ///
/// your vocal melodies are
so rich it's overkill during the outro round; pare that back[/b] ///
The Chocolate Chips
--- drone drone drone ---
+++ chrous +++
/// bum buh rump pa pa pum: your round sounds like "The Little Drummer Boy" ///
+++ good use of the challenge for dynamics +++
Boffo Yux Dudes
--- ho hum, sexual innuendos
and homophobia ---
--- superfluous round ---
bgm
+++ yes! +++
+++ fantastic integration of the challenge: rich, dynamic and punchy +++
+++ it's a bold stylistic choice, but i like that the "stumble", especially how it pays off in the round +++
+++ not a round, a
catch +++
ADD
+++ love that you start right off with the singing +++
--- wish that singing was in key ---
+++ 3/4 time +++
+++ lead guitars +++
/// the leads are the best part of this tune, I wish that you would have made a round of
that melody ///
/// the round feels forced ///
+++ blending of singing and spoken word +++
--- too long ---
Adam Adamant
--- flat, over-reverb'd vox ---
--- hot uke ---
/// well, you don't shrink from the challenge, do you?///
/// you have a round, but it doesn't seem to add to the song ///
--- melody lacks prosody; tends to meander ---
