Great collection of songs. I’m glad this title inspired you.
ADD - You hooked me almost immediately by shifting the key right after the intro. (Or at least giving the impression of shifting the key.) I also really appreciate the internal near rhymes of heard/word, cursed/word, and deserve/word. Ramping up the intensity without really adding any additional instruments is a neat trick. The drums (is that you?) are so spastic and energetic. The Trump quote at the end is perfect. You really have a great “band sound” for what I am assuming in one person. Too bad (or not, I guess) that you ignored the challenge, because it probably cost you 60 points, which would have put you on top of the standings. But who cares! Great song.
Caravan Ray - The opening borders on American Cop Show Theme—you just need some wacka-wacka guitar. I’m appreciating your forays into groove-based music, even if it doesn’t always resonate with me completely. You have a good sense of when and how to mix things up in these repetitive scenarios—rarely do your songs seem overly long. I thought the lyrics were just okay, but they’re pretty effective in the context. I appreciate that some effort was made to execute the challenge but I don’t think that’s a high priority for you anyway, and that’s okay.
Glenn Case - Can I start by saying that all your songs for this competition seem to be slightly clipped at the start? (Not overloaded, but trimmed.) I’m not sure what’s going on there. Lots to like about this song, which ultimately left an “okay” overall impression on me. The “from now on” part could have come straight from a solo John Lennon record. It’s passionate and intense (and my favorite part of the song.) Some of the lyrics (even the tagline “I’m proceeding to stonewall”) seem a little clunky to me. And perhaps too spare. I wanted more of that raw honesty I mentioned earlier. But what do I know? You won the round!
The Idiot Kings - I’m writing this after your post about being upset with the results, so my words will probably be tempered or at least tinged with guilt. I’m sorry, but I didn’t like this song. Well, to be fair, I thought it was “okay,” but there were elements of it I didn’t like at all. Most notably, the lyrics, which I thought were a little simplistic for such a heavy topic. Your voice does sound really good here and I enjoyed most of your singing. The “Where is the control?” part seems out of place for the song and also kind of naïve in the context of this subject. (I haven’t met a lot of heroin users, but I’m guessing “control” is not something they maintain for very long.) The section that comes right after that moment is the least interesting part of the song for me—it has none of the melodic charm of the opening verse as it vacillates between those two chords a half-step apart. You win me back a little bit after that in the next part, but I think the damage is done. I’m also guessing you lost a lot of points across the board for the challenge, because simply making edits to your arrangement didn’t seem like enough of a connection to the prompt.
Tomorrow - I thought your song made the best effort at executing the challenge. I was much happier once all of those layers were stripped away.
This is a solid performance. Decent lyrics overall - heartfelt and poignant. I found the mix to be a little too bright and tinny. I mention this mostly because the scores were so close that, as insignificant as it may seem, it may have cost you the win in the round. The drums were also a little too busy for my tastes, but maybe that was so you had something to strip away. I don’t think that kitchen sink opening had to be that extreme to be effective when it was whittled down.
One round to go!
beer held, in drooling anticipation, is that ten words yet